White To Black
by Britedark
Summary: AU. Failing to save Izayoi & their son, the Inu no Taisho falls to madness. Subdued by Bokuseno's magic, he sleeps for decades. Awakening, memory lost, he wanders aimlessly. Will he regain himself? Will he receive another chance to love, to protect?
1. Prolog

_**Disclaimer:** This piece is based on 'Inuyasha', owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied._

**Author's Note:** This is a re-write of last year's "Someone To Protect." The one-shot has been expanded here into two sections (prolog and chapter 1), with some details changed. This story will hopefully continue to be worked on in 2010. (Additional note - though the story uses the anime version of the Inu no Taisho's death as the branching point for this AU story, there is no S'ounga in this story.)

* * *

**White To Black**

**Prolog: Legend's Fall**

He was the Inu no Taisho. Leader of the dogs, power over the Western Lands. He took what he would and feared nothing. He was ancient, yet those who thought his strength might be fading dared no more than to whisper it.

Until the ningen. The woman. Until he dared to touch a mortal brew. Until he forged his strength into a blade to protect a butterfly's life, and then a second for reasons almost no one knew. Until he melded his blood with hers, that she should bear a hanyo son.

The world of the higher youkai shook in rage and disgust. Not that youkai did not meddle in human affairs, did not at times find themselves drawn to dally with the short-lived people whose dreams and emotions were, after all, the stuff of intoxication and, indeed, how little even the wise would admit, were the progenitor and sustainer of much youkai life itself. But for a taiyoukai to go where even most lesser youkai would never dare; to dare to make a new life that would swirl with the mingled potential, both for good, and for ill, of both life kinds …

The dragons, ancient and rigid in their perception of right being, howled the worst. Ryukotsusei challenged the inu lord, threatening to sear the Musashi plains clean of mortal life if he did not respond. True form to true form they fought, dragon and giant dog, shaking the land as their youki clashed and raged. The dragon prevailed, or so it seemed, his claws slashing through the white dog's ribs and foreleg with terrible effect. But, the dog refused to go down. Howling, he rose on his hind legs, a massive cloud of youki gathering around his right forepaw. As the dragon gathered himself to strike once more, the dog moved first, slamming into the long, snaky form with his extended paw. A claw landed above the dragon's heart, and the invoked spell drove it deep. The dragon tried to gasp, all four eyes going wide. But, the spell took his breath, as it shoved him into the rock. The claw found the dragon's heart, and stilled it, as the terrible spell twisted the dragon's youki and made it its own, sealing the beast, perhaps for all time.

The dog pulled away, leaving his claw, his youki nearly spent, his blood pouring from his wounds. Dwindling to his human form, the Inu no Taisho made his way to a nearby beach. The two swords at his waist pulsed and trembled, sensing the state of their creator. They were part of him, part of his soul, and his physical need drew them. Had he drawn their combined power back to him, he could have healed himself and lived.

But, he had no intention of doing so. Either by ill chance or evil intent, the battle had come on the very eve when his ningen lover would give birth. He had tried to make her safe, but as his senses cleared from the haze of battle, he knew that she had been betrayed to the man her father had wanted her to marry. While he had fought the dragon, that man had brought his forces against the secluded manor, butchering the humans who had accepted a taiyoukai's offer of refuge. The man might hesitate, briefly, to enter a woman's domain during a birthing, but the hesitation would not last long.

He intended to go to them. He intended to save them. He knew it would be at the cost of his remaining physical life, but he did not care. He had supped a heady brew, since that first meeting with what had then been no more than a slip of a mortal girl. She had taught him that even the weak could be unafraid. She had taught him that courage was less a matter of physical strength than of will. She had taught him passion and compassion; far beyond anything the rest of his long youkai life had taught him. He had promised to protect her and her son, and counted the end of his long life as well worth the cost, if woman and child lived.

But he made a mistake. He turned his back on his pure-youkai son, who yearned for the one sword, but who was taken aback by the question of whether he had someone to protect. He assumed his son's mother was too distracted by the items he had recently left at her palace, to have taken any note of the dragon's challenge or battle.

He did not expect his son to take him down from behind, before he could transform into dog form. He did not expect his one-time mate to streak down from the sky at her son's howl, or to have her bind his senses and his mind before he even realized she was near. They took him down, bound him, removed him to her palace, and worked to heal him.

While in the distant manor, a man slew the woman and fired the building, destroying her and the barely born babe, burying their burning bodies under the collapsing roof.

When the former Inu no Taisho awoke, bound with his mate's strongest spells and his swords vanished; he knew what had happened. Knew that his vow to protect the ningen and their hanyo son was broken, their bodies reduced to bone and ash, beyond all recovery.

He went mad, then. Shattering the bonds placed on him, he turned ravening eyes and jaws towards blood-kin and the one he had once mated. They escaped his wrath, but the palace he had built to woo her did not survive. Howling, driven by the insane need to match the wreckage of his heart with physical destruction, the massive dog stormed away from the ruins and into the wider world.

How much havoc he caused in his rampage he never knew, though neither youkai nor humans were safe. Rage until all the lands and all the peoples united against him he might have done, had not his oldest friend's voice somehow reached him on the winds. Soothed and calmed, he found himself on a peak near his friend's forest, howling with the grief of his shattered heart. Howled until the lands shuddered with tremors so violent that they shook down temples and ancient trees alike. Howled, the myths would later say, from one new moon to the next, until the kami themselves took note and silenced his voice, and pushed him from the mountain-top, so that he fell. Fell transforming, to be caught by the branches of his oldest friend, to be settled gently against the trunk of the ancient magnolia.

And there, he slept. Slept while years, then decades, tiptoed away. Slept while the world went on in more chaos and pain than might have happened, had he not lost and raged. Slept while his betrayers fruitlessly struggled to control the swords they had hidden from him. Slept while the ancient friend whispered its lulling spells. The tree could not understand its friend's grief, or the cause of his wild rage. But, it knew that it could, in some fashion, at least, repay an ancient debt. And so, in its way, it whispered calmness to the wild spirit, and wove its spells slowly, gently, around the turbulent soul. Like rootlets finding the tiniest cracks in the rocks, the tree wove its spells into the youkai's very being. It could not heal. But, it could bind the grief, and the pain, and the memories, and it did.

But that very binding, in the end, proved the fatal flaw. The tree would have bound his friend for eternity, to free him of pain and madness. But, the binding depended upon the friendship the two very disparate beings had forged untold years before.

It could not bind what had forgotten.

The youkai woke from his slumbers, and remembered--nothing.

And without knowledge of friendship and good intent, knowing only that the tree was whispering spells intended to make him sleep, the youkai fled.

Fled into a world he didn't recognize. Fled into a world where he had no memory of himself, lacking even a name. Fled into a world that was haunted with inchoate ghosts and frequent pain, where too many things either attacked or fled on sight. If attacked, he responded with vicious strength, his claws flashing eldritch knives of destructive force. He sometimes sensed that there was much more to his power: watching youkai shape-changers, somehow he knew that he had a different form, that he should be far more than the average youkai which held human-like form. But reaching for that power or that form brought him nothing but pain, or a tsunami of whispers that tried to bury his mind in sleep. Persistence brought him nothing else, and so, eventually, he stopped trying.

Bereft of memory and bereft of a past, and so of a future, he wandered the lands, nothing more than a white-haired seeming of a man, but with dulled, yellow youkai eyes and youkai ears and youkai claws, his clothes as faded as his eyes...


	2. Someone To Protect

_**Disclaimer:** This piece is based on 'Inuyasha', owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied._

**Author's Note:** This is a re-write of last year's "Someone To Protect." The one-shot has been expanded here into two sections (prolog and chapter 1), with some details changed. This story will hopefully continue to be worked on in 2010.

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**Chapter 1: Someone To Protect**

Thunder rumbled in the distance. He raised his chin, sniffed, and then grimaced. A massive rain storm was moving in. He would be thoroughly soaked, unless he released sufficient youki to create a barrier. However, his aimless wandering had taken him into human lands. The flare might attract unwanted attention.

He didn't want to fight another human who hated all youkai, and who had the power to do something about it.

Better to deal with the discomfort of sodden silk, if he failed to find a cave for shelter.

Sighing with mild regret, he started ambling down the faint forest track again. Less than five steps he took, before he halted again, momentarily freezing as a flash of youki flared from the sky. His head snapping up, the silver-haired youkai saw a horde of lesser youkai materialize and stream eastward, screeching in rage and need. He didn't need to extend his senses to scan their bloodlust. But they puzzled him. Such a grouping was rare, unless something truly powerfully drew them. But, what would be drawing them that hadn't already come to his attention? He had noticed nothing out of the ordinary in days--

Or... had he? His eyes closing, the youkai pushed against the ever-present lump of pain, thrusting it away long enough to concentrate on the full extent of his senses. To his surprise, he realized that something was whispering to him that had turned his path a full day ago. Something that promised his heart's desire. Whatever he wanted, whatever he wished--

His golden eyes snapped open, starting to glitter in ire. _Whatever he wanted?_ That was a lie. He knew the world, knew the truth--anything that promised a 'heart's desire' was a deceit, a trolling to use pain to increase pain.

He growled, and his youki flared. Armor misted into view and solidified, settling over his plain, dark-gray silks, as his obi widened and lengthened, shifting from black to an intense red and blue. Fur cascaded down his back in a silver, two-tailed cloak. His right hand went to his left side, and bewilderment clamored against his anger as he found his hand unfilled. For a moment, the ball of shrouded pain threatened to claw back into the forefront of his mind. But with another growl, he shoved it away again. Not this time. He might not remember who he was or what he was. But, nothing was going to whisper fake promises to his heart and lure his steps against his will, and not pay for it.

Launching himself into the air, he followed the swarm under the rapidly darkening sky. It was not just the approach of the natural storm, but the darkening of evil as more and more youkai appeared. He felt mildly astonished at the sheer number--when had youkai been so numerous, especially in human-dominated lands? But, he left the question behind as he sped forward, slashing away the youkai who blundered into his path. He could smell fire, human blood and human fear. Irritation flickered over his nerves at the human taint, for he did not understand why they should be involved with something that called to youkai. Where they all fools?

The sky turned black, and he saw narrow flashes of white and pale pink flaming upwards. Youkai shrieked and exploded, dozens perishing with every shot, and he understood. A human was involved! He--no, she--was luring the youkai to her, to destroy them!

Rage flared. He flung himself forward, his youki slashing ahead of him, parting the mindless waves of youkai like the bow of a ship parting the waters. He had no care for the mindless breeds of youkai, yet still he would not stand for the deliberate luring of creatures to their deaths. She saw him, limned with his power, as he dove towards her. An arrow, then a second, sprang from her bow, blazing with power. Not enough power. They slammed into the youki swirling around him and disintegrated, swallowing discomfortingly large amounts of his youki with them, but not enough. Not near enough. He struck, with exquisite care for all his rage, and she flew backwards, her bow shattering, to slam into the ground.

He landed lightly, knowing that the human was unconscious. That should have taken care of her spell. But, moments later, he realized he was wrong. There was a second locus of power, on her but not of her. A locus that shimmered with far more power than he could remember ever seeing enclosed in an artifact. A power that was a strange mixture of dark and light, with the dark dominating the light.

It was the dark that was calling.

The swarms descended towards the helpless woman.

/==/==/==/==/

Lightning crackled above the pouring rain, for a blinding instant revealing the battlefield the meadow had become. His bangs glued to his forehead, the youkai panted as he braced his hands on his thighs. He had not had to expend as much power in any of his known memories. Of course, he had never put himself in a position of defending a single spot on the ground before. To the extent that their tiny minds had allowed it, they had the choice of attack, and they had simply swarmed him from all directions. If he could have remembered how, he could have slain them all long before they reached arm's length. As it was, he had been forced to dance in the middle of a cyclone of his own youki winds, slashing at those who made their way through the winds. His eldritch and physical claws were deadly, but, under the circumstances--

--Somewhat inefficient.

The swarms were dead, their instincts of self-survival too weak to overcome the lure of the calling darkness. At least that call--perhaps no longer powered by the swarms' gathered youki--appeared to have lessened, for he could detect no other youkai within the considerable range of his senses.

Sighing, he straightened, focusing his attention on his own youki. Concentrating, he tamed the winds, drawing them back within himself. He considered, but chose not to draw back his armor and his fur. There was, after all, the miko lying senseless between his feet, who might wake unexpectedly early.

And there were the humans calling from beyond the clearing.

He supposed he could leave the miko to their care--they were probably her allies, after all.

But, there was a chance they weren't. And he had questions about that lure thing. For once--just once!--he wanted some answers.

When the villagers arrived at the meadow, they found only the remnants of massacred youkai, a broken bow, and a discarded quiver.

/==/==/==/==/

Kikyo's first awareness was that her head ached abominably. Her body wasn't far behind. She was oddly warm, however, and she seemed to be lying on something far softer than any futon. Which, for some reason, didn't make any sense.

A hand slid behind her head and lifted. She winced at the pain of the movement. "Sorry," rumbled a deep voice. "But you need to drink. Here." The wooden lip of a cup jostled her lip; aware of thirst, she opened her mouth, and drank. The water was cold; with an odd under taste she did not recognize. The cup drained, she felt the hand behind her head lower her back to the softness. "Better. There's fish on the fire, when you're ready to eat."

Her head still throbbed, but the water had woken her mind, and questions were starting to come to the fore. Slowly, she cracked her eyes open, blinking as her pupils adjusted to the dancing light. The fire. Of course. Looking straight up, she saw rock overhead. Rock? A cave? Why was she in a cave? Why not in her hut? Her fingers twitched, and she realized that what she felt with them was fur. Fur? Who used fur for bedding? And who was the source of that totally unfamiliar voice? Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Slowly, mindful of her aches, she turned her head. A face edged into view. A triangular face, with heavy black eyebrows obscured by silver bangs, with golden eyes and jagged, indigo slashes on his cheeks. And pointed ears--

Youkai? What was she doing in a cave under a youkai's care?

Then she recognized the feel of his aura, and her eyes went wide in remembered terror. "You!" she exclaimed, struggling and failing to sit up, to move away from him. "You tried to kill me!"

The soft growl was oddly dog-like. "Woman," said the youkai, "If I wanted you dead, you would be dead."

She stared at him, struggling with a wave of pure fear. She could sense his strength, even cloaked as it was: it was overwhelming at this range. She remembered the youkai rushing towards her from the sky; remembered how her arrows vanished against his towering youki, how she had desperately flung out a barrier, only to see both barrier and her bow shattered with a twist of youki wind. Then, nothing--

"Woman, I am not going to kill you--at least, not now. So stop shaking in fear. It's irritating."

Kikyo bit her lip, ashamed to realize that she was shaking, her forehead beaded with sweat. Looking away, she closed her eyes, struggling to get her fear under control. She was a powerful miko. She could not afford to show fear of any youkai, no matter how powerful. She had to protect the Shikon No Tama, no matter what the cost. She had to be fearless, calm. But, a small voice inside her kept screaming in terror, and she couldn't make it go away.

"Baka," The voice was fainter, as if it were not talking to her. "Miko. Miko power, miko senses--no wonder she's trying not to scream..." Moments later, her terror began to fade. Eyes snapping open, Kikyo stared at the ceiling, puzzled, then understanding, as she felt the youkai's aura shift and fade. This youkai was so powerful that he could control how his youki appeared to those around him. She doubted that he could make it entirely 'disappear'-- it was clearly too powerful for that-- but her senses were no longer being drenched in an aura that shouted 'fear me!'. Closing her eyes, Kikyo again tried to assert her emotional control, and felt her body responding. She breathed deeply, willing herself to relax. Her racing heart calmed.

She repeated the calming exercises a third time, before opening her eyes and turning her head to look at him. His yellow eyes were watching her intently, and she had no doubt that he could read every emotion on her face. Telling herself not to be intimidated, she met his gaze. "Youkai-sama. What is your name?"

He considered the human woman, impressed--and puzzled as to why he was impressed. He'd realized that her sensitivity to his youki had caused her physical terror, but it was still a bit surprising that she'd managed to control her fear so quickly. Humans were supposed to be afraid of youkai--that was something he'd always known, presumably before he had awoken under that annoying tree. He supposed youkai-hunters must be able to control their fear, or be truly fearless, but he couldn't recall ever meeting such a human.

"It is not important," he stated, not sure he would have been willing to let her know his name, even if he did know it. "Do you wish to eat?"

She glared at him, and then struggled to sit up. He leaned over to assist her--

At that exact moment, she realized her state of dishabille under the fur. "My clothes!" she exclaimed, clutching the fur to her chest and pulling away. "What have you done to my clothes!"

Trying not to roll his eyes, the youkai glanced at the other side of the fire. "Your clothes were soaked, little miko," he said as he stood up. "It seemed unwise to let your body chill further." It wouldn't have been a problem she had been wearing fire-rat robes, he thought as he plucked the now dry and warm material from the green branches he'd spread them on. Wondering why that thought had occurred to him, he dropped the clothes next to the woman, before strolling towards the cave's exit.

He studied the hint of overcast sky from his position behind the jagged wall that separated the main cave from the entrance, and felt the urge to leave. Why spend any time with a mere mortal woman? Except there was still that bauble around the woman's neck. He wanted it and its irritating whispering destroyed. But, it felt too powerful and dangerous to touch without knowing what it was, at least if he were a prudent youkai. Which he believed he was. Which meant he had to manage a conversation with a human.

Rubbing one temple, which was starting to ache, the youkai grimaced as he felt her body sitting up on his fur. He was taking back his fur as soon as she was dressed--it was part of him, damn it, and what had ever put the crazy idea in his head to keep her naked body warm by wrapping her up in it? His fur was his--was his--

Was his what? The youkai clenched his jaw as a spike of pain ran from one side of his skull to the other. Why didn't he remember his past? Did he want to remember? The inexplicable grief caught him unexpectedly, and he choked, and grabbed at the wall as the sudden urge to run away as fast and far as possible, struck him. What was this? She was only a mortal, only a human woman! Why was he having these strange questions, these stranger thoughts? Why did he suddenly remember how it had felt to be carrying her slight figure in his arms? Why did it suddenly feel as if it should be pleasant, rather than a degrading necessity? She was only a mortal woman! She was nothing to him. Nothing!

Stone crumbled under his claws.

/==/==/==/==/

Kikyo dressed as quickly as her aching body allowed, then crawled off the warm fur. Kneeling by the fire, she pulled up the skewer of fish and settled back to eat, disciplining her mind not to think about the situation she was in, particularly the fact that she had been naked under that fur. She bit into the fish, surprised to find that it had not only been gutted and descaled, but deboned as well. It was the next thing to falling off the skewer, and she had to use both hands to keep from dripping fish onto her hakama. But it was good, she was famished, and she knew she needed to get as much strength back as possible, before this youkai revealed why he had attacked her from the middle of that swarm, and then kidnapped her. She knew it was quite unlikely that she could ever find a way to defeat him. But that didn't mean she wouldn't prepare to make him pay as much as possible before she died.

Though she didn't want to even try to imagine what would happen when he took the jewel from her dead body.

She reached for the second skewer, and then hesitated as a new thought crossed her mind.

_What if she used the Shikon No Tama to defeat him?_

That would be a selfless wish, wouldn't it? He would be a clear and obvious danger if the jewel increased his power, wouldn't he? Wouldn't it be selfless, to wish for enough power to defeat him, to save everyone?

She bit down on the second fillet, its taste turning bitter in her mouth. It wouldn't be a selfless wish, but rather one based on fear and selfish desire to live. Her first most task was to purify the jewel. Protecting it grew out of that first task, but it could not supersede the first. She could not protect it from youkai by using it against them...

As she finished the fish, motion flickered at the periphery of her vision. Turning her head, she saw the fur fly up from where it had been lying. At the same moment, she realized that the youkai was returning, but from her left, though the fur was to her right. Looking around, she saw him approach. A silver, twin-tailed, furry cape hung down from his shoulders--very obviously the same fur she had been lying in. The tips didn't quite brush the floor, and they were twitching, as if they were somehow--alive? "Umm ... your cape, what--"

"I will ask the questions, woman," he interrupted sharply. Kikyo snapped her gaze back around as he stepped to the opposite side of the fire and seated himself. She glared at him, welcoming her surge of anger.

"The name is Kikyo, youkai."

Golden eyes stared back over the fire. She met his gaze, hands turning into fists as she forced herself not to look away. She could not match him in power, she knew, but that didn't mean she couldn't match him in strength of will. She hated the memory of how afraid he'd made her feel fear just by his youki: she wouldn't let him make her show fear again!

He blinked, and looked away for a moment. The loss of contact left Kikyo feeling almost dazed, as if something pressing against her had been released. She blinked several times, not quite dizzy.

"Miko-sama." The gaze was back, but was guarded this time, and less intense. "This one would ask you about the jewel around your neck. What is it, and to what use are you trying to put it?"

She reached her hand up to grasp the jewel hidden beneath her clothing. "Why do you want to know?" she asked. "It will do you no good, youkai-sama."

He sighed, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face. "Little miko, this one wants nothing to do with that trinket. Except to destroy it."

"You can't!" she exclaimed.

His eyes glittered, and Kikyo jumped as he cracked his knuckles. "Why not?"

He listened with all the patience in him as she told what she knew; what the shattered remnants of the taijiya clan had told her, after they had fought their way to her village, repulsing the almost constant attacks after their headman and most of their village had died destroying a youkai which had used the jewel. A ripple went along his nerves when she mentioned its name, as if he had heard of it somewhere before, but he ignored that reaction, keeping focused on her story. The remaining youkai-fighters had stayed to protect the village, which came under attack within days. They had given her the task of purifying the jewel, at a minimum, and finding a way to destroy it, at best.

"I'm doing the best I can," she concluded, clearly defensive in her tone. "But I have to spend so much time and energy just defending myself and others, it feels as if I have so little left over to concentrate on purifying it. And ... one of the attacks killed my little sister. Fire-youkai burned the hut: she was hurt, she didn't make it outside..."

Something slammed hard in his mind, and the youkai gasped, one hand flying to his forehead. _Fire - death- _the pain hit him harder than it ever had. Why? What was it about fire and death that made him hurt so? Who--what--had died in fire that he could not remember? Was not allowed to remember?

"Youkai-sama? What's wrong? You--you look to be in pain."

With sheer force of will, he pushed the grief away from him, angrily aware that his effort was etched on his face. "We are discussing your dilemma, little miko, not mine," he told her icily. "So. If you were not constantly defending yourself, you could purify this Shikon No Tama?"

She opened her mouth, then hesitated, looking away a moment. "If I can keep my grief from darkening my heart, I believe I can."

Her answer was more satisfying than a simple 'yes' would have been. He knew his own heart was darkened, beyond the mere fact of being youkai, and it was due to whatever had stolen his memories. "So, you purify the jewel. Then what?"

"I--make a wish on the jewel, and--and hope it is the right wish."

"Which is?"

"A selfless wish. If the right wish is made, the jewel should grant it, and simply disappear."

_Selfless._ He considered what kind of wish would be good enough to cause the jewel to disappear, and blinked as the answer came to him. Obvious. There was only one answer. But, as he watched the dark-eyed human, it became clear that she had no clue, and that whatever she was considering would only drag her deeper into the jewel's hold.

_Humans._ So full of needs and wants and emotions, so easily tempted.

Though perhaps he shouldn't judge. He was not without his own problems and his own desires. That he knew none of what he wanted could be achieved by depending on something as treacherous as an inanimate crystal: perhaps that was why he was not tempted.

He sighed, when it became obvious that she was still running down all the wishes she could imagine, trying to find one that would fit _her_ definition of selflessness, not realizing what mattered wa_s the j_ewel's perception, not hers. "The right wish, miko, is to wish it to disappear, forever."

"What?" She stared at him, startled eyes wide. Something twinged inside. _Someone else had looked at him that way once. Who? _"Disappear?"

"Think about it, miko-sama," he said, gentling his voice. "Any wish for it to do something, despite how selfless it seems, is by definition selfish, _because_ you want it."

She looked stunned. He settled back to wait for comprehension to come to her. More quickly than he expected, she nodded. "The only selfless wish is to not wish _for_ anything," she said, meeting his eyes. "Yes. I see." Her mouth closed, compressed, and then opened, her expression reluctant. "Thank-you. Youkai-sama."

Something inside him wanted to chuckle at her obvious resentment at feeling grateful to a youkai. He didn't, as the mere thought scratched the ever-underlying pain, but he also realized something important. It was the first time since his awakening that he had even thought about chuckling. This woman was doing something to him.

And he was tired of drifting without a purpose, ignorant of himself, slashing out blindly when threatened, never making a change. He wanted...

"Miko. You need better defenses, so you can concentrate on purifying the jewel."

She blinked at him, then nodded.

"I will protect you."

The word vibrated within him, startling him, filling him with pain--and a sudden certainty. This was the key to his restoration, the key to what he had been, and what had happened to him. His right hand felt warm, and it was as if, for a moment, he could feel a hilt in his hand, feel a blade shimmering with power--his power, his blade. It was--it was his deepest, unfulfilled need. To protect someone.

If she would let him.

/==/==/==/==/

Kikyo stared at the youkai in shock. "Protect me? You--a youkai--want to protect me?"

"Yes."

She continued to stare at his armored form, disbelieving. "You're youkai! I'm human! You can't be serious!"

His gaze hardened. "Do not insult me, woman."

She forced herself to not look away. "How could I possibly trust you? You attacked me last night!"

"I attacked in the belief that you had invoked a spell to lure youkai to you, so you could kill them."

He said nothing more, though she waited for him to apologize. "You kidnapped me," she accused, and then blinked as she thought she felt something shiver through his aura. But, there was no change in his expression or body.

"You are free to leave."

"I don't know where I am," she snapped.

"I will give you directions or escort you."

"You want me to trust you."

He blinked at that, as if he had not considered that. "True."

Kikyo looked down, thinking hard. A youkai protector would be enormously powerful. But, no matter how powerful, how could she trust him? Even if she trusted him, could she purify the jewel in the presence of his youki? And even if they could work together, what would other people think? Her thoughts quailed, as she abruptly realized that her position was already threatened. Her people would have questions when she returned. If they found she had spent the night in a cave human-shaped youkai... oh, kami ... She shuddered. She knew the legends, the stories. Kami, no--no...

"Miko. What are you doing to the jewel?"

The sharp question jerked her out of her horrified contemplation. Dismay struck her as she realized that the jewel was reacting to her bleak thoughts. Pulling it out of its hiding place, she rested it on both palms, closing her eyes, descending quickly into a light trance. She dismissed the dark feelings, concentrating on the still, quiet place within her that was purely light. The jewel's darkness calmed, fading slightly. Carefully she left the trance, opening her eyes to find the taiyoukai less than a length from her, his eyes on the jewel, and his youki, she noticed absently, tightly controlled.

It was not affecting the jewel.

Which answered that question, at least.

"Miko-sama?"

She glanced at him. "If we work together, my people may revile me and cast me out."

"I..." His eyes flickered, and she thought she saw a flash of pain on his face. "True."

"But I must purify the jewel. It is my duty."

He nodded.

Kikyo closed her eyes, willing herself to breathe out the fear and dismay that accompanied the thought of working with a youkai. Any youkai. If she had been able to take on the duty of purifying the jewel, knowing she might die while protecting it, then surely she was strong enough to live with the risk of living with a ruined reputation. But the other risk--

"Youkai-sama, I need you to trust me."

She heard his soft snort. "Of course."

Opening her eyes, she tucked the jewel away before looking at him. "Then give me your name, and let me touch your soul."

/==/==/==/==/

The youkai knew--bereft of memories or not--that the mortal miko, for all her strength, could--at her worst--only slightly injure him. Since he wanted to protect her, and needed her to trust him, he understood the need for that trust to be both ways.

What he forgot to consider was that trust concerned more than mere physical safety.

He visibly flinched at her request. His soul? His name--he should have expected that, but his soul?

The youkai found himself near the entrance, fighting the urge to flee. Why hadn't he thought, before offering his protection to a mortal? How dare she want to see his vulnerability, his secrets? And what would she 'see'? His lack of memory? This damnable pain? The source of the pain, which was so hidden from him? What right did she have to ask that? He should just leave! She was only mortal, let her protect that disgusting jewel by herself, why should he care?

Except he'd already made the offer.

He couldn't go back on that offer.

He could not.

"Why are you in pain, youkai-sama?"

Tensing, he said nothing. How did she know?

"You've been showing flashes of pain, as we spoke," she said very quietly, answering his unspoken question. "When I--surprised you, for a moment, you--there was pain. Tremendous pain--heart-pain, not physical pain."

He could not answer her. But, she did not take his silence for the end of questions, walking around him, looking up to meet his eyes. "I mean no insult, youkai-sama," she continued. "Nor do I mean you harm. But can you understand why I need to know I can trust you? And that I cannot trust words? It will only be a touch, just to know that there is no evil directed at me."

With an effort, he made himself speak. "And if you find no evil, little miko?"

"Then I will accept your offer."

That settled that. Sinking his fingers into the rock, he looked away and nodded. "Do as you must, miko."

"Only a touch." She moved closer. He felt the heat of her body as she stepped into his personal space. He concentrated on the feel of his claws digging through the rock, concentrated on not reacting--

Fingers touched his cheek, giving only warmth, and the pressure of contact, then drew lightly down his face. He felt nothing more, but from her soft, whispered "Kami," she obviously did.

"Are you finished?" he asked abruptly.

There was a pause, and he thought she would turn him down, leave, and flee from whatever she had seen. He was youkai, after all. That his soul was so terribly bound by that tree's spells could mean nothing good, and the human already feared him...

"Thank-you, youkai-sama." Startled, he looked at her, meeting her eyes. They met his without fear, though there was another emotion swimming in their depths, that he didn't want to try to plumb.

"I accept your protection."


	3. Breaking Faith

_**Disclaimer:** This piece is based on 'Inuyasha', owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied._

**Chapter 2: Breaking Faith**

Kikyo thought she believed she could trust the powerful, nameless youkai, who had knocked her out and then, rescued her. That belief was quickly put to the test, as she walked to the entrance of the cave, and then flung herself back and to the side. "How do we get down?" she demanded, voice shaking, as she stared at the sheer drop-off. "I can't climb that!"

"I fly, of course." The tall youkai stepped up beside her, and held his left forearm out. "Lady miko?"

She stared up at his bland expression, fighting down the surge of the fear the sheer face had induced, not to mention the reminder that this was not a man, but a youkai. She had thought she could trust this particular youkai. But, to put it to the test this quickly? To trust her life to him?

Something glinted in the golden eyes. "I could carry you down, the same way I carried you up," he offered.

She didn't want to know. And what was that expression in his eyes? He couldn't be laughing at her. Youkai didn't laugh. Youkai didn't have a sense of humor.

She couldn't let him think she was afraid. Forcing herself away from the rocky wall, she clasped both hands around his armored forearm. She wondered how just holding on to his arm would keep her from falling, but before the thought could lead to a question, something warm and furry wrapped itself around her torso.

With no time to react, she found herself in the air, standing on nothing. Her breath froze in her throat, as she stared at the nothingness around her, at the distance between her and the rushing river below. Kikyo would have screamed, if she could, but she could not breathe.

"I will not let you fall, miko-sama," rumbled the deep voice. "Close your eyes, if that will help."

Kikyo obeyed, struggling to breathe. She could feel his youkai swirling about her, in the bands of warmth around her body, in the spiral beneath her feet. He had promised to protect her; she reminded herself. It was a true promise: she knew it. She had touched his soul. It was not a human soul; but she had felt his compassion, as well as his pain. She had felt his honesty, and his determination.

She would not fall.

Opening her eyes, she saw that they were not moving, though her hair was whipping around from the wind. Looking down, she located the river, and then moved her eyes along its course. She realized that she recognized it: it was the same river that flowed past the village. They were no more than a few hills away.

And she was not as high up as she had first thought.

They began to move forward, slowly at first, and then with increasing speed. Kikyo watched their progress, gradually losing her fear, amazed by how different everything looked from the sky, and how much more she could see. Almost, she was disappointed when they dropped towards the rutted, muddy road.

Her sandals squelched in the mud. As the fur whipped away from her, Kikyo felt momentarily off balance. Recovering, she turned to face the youkai lord, and bowed. "Thank-you for your assistance, youkai-sama. I will return to the village, now."

One heavy eyebrow twitched. "I cannot protect you, if you are apart from me, miko-sama."

"I--I will be safe in the village," she returned.

His eyes grew cold. "Where your sister died from fire-youkai?"

Kikyo looked away, pain tearing at her heart. Kaede! Her sister, her dear, little sister! She had thought she could protect and care for her sister, even with the Shikon No Tama in her possession. She hadn't wanted to leave Kaede behind, when she finished her training and left the temple, despite her teacher's recommendation that she should allow one of the retired mikos to adopt her. Kaede was all she had left; the only family she had. And now, Kaede was gone, because she was not strong enough, not fast enough--

"Miko-sama ... I am sorry. I did not mean to make you cry."

She wiped the tears from her face and looked at him. His face held concern, and one hand was extended towards her, as if he wished to touch her, yet dared not. Concern, from a youkai?

With a deep breath, she reached for her calm. "It is not your fault, youkai-sama. You--you are correct. The village isn't safe. It's just ..."

"You fear their reaction, when they see me," he finished quietly.

She looked away, feeling the heat in her windblown cheeks. To be afraid of her own kind! It was wrong: it was stupid. And yet, she feared. Not for her safety, but what they would say. What their faces would say, even if nothing were said--

"I will not allow them to hurt you, miko-sama."

Kikyo looked back up, managing a pained smile. "Can you protect me from their reactions, youkai-sama? Can you protect me from seeing their faces, when they realize I stand with a youkai? Can you keep my ears from hearing their words, when they recoil from the very idea of a human and a youkai together?"

His eyes closed for a long moment, pain in his face. "I cannot."

"Then, I should go in alone. I'll come back..."

"No."

/==/==/==/==/

Shoulders back, spine stiff, the human woman walked towards the crest of the hill that separated them from the village. He stayed two paces behind her, senses alert for any hint of youkai activity. He had already picked up the smell of blood and burnt wood, though neither was fresh.

He felt regret, that he hadn't deferred to the miko's preference that he not enter the village with her. But, he had not been able to let her have her way. He could not ignore the sinking, cold sensation of fear at the idea. He was fast. He was strong. Far faster and stronger than any human. But, not strong and fast enough. Not if she were apart from him. He had to stay at her side.

They crossed the top of the hill and descended towards the shallow valley. As they approached the village, he let his eyes rove, taking careful measure. It was not a large village, he judged; once prosperous, but now under siege. Bare spots marked vanished houses; others were burnt heaps, still more, were damaged and under repair. There were bare sections in the rice-paddies, which should have all been thick with green by this time. He could see bows and quivers near to hand of some of the men repairing roofs, while spears were in plain sight, leaning against walls.

Underneath everything was the tang of death, and the faint miasma of fear.

/==/==/==/==/

After the first cry of recognition, the villagers gathered rapidly. The first shouts, as the more vigorous ran towards her, were full of relief, and there were many smiles. But, that changed as they took a good look at the person behind her. Smiles vanished, eyes widened, weapons came up--most hesitantly, but not those held by the scattering of taijiya in the crowd.

One of those--a scarred face, narrow-eyed man named Iwao--spoke up. "You walk with a youkai behind you, miko. Why?"

Kikyo put her best face forward, though internally, she flinched at his hostile tone. "This youkai saved me from the swarm," she said. She chose not to mention that he had initially attacked her. "I was unconscious: he carried me to a cave to recover. He wanted to know about the jewel, having sensed its power. When I explained, he offered to protect me, until I can purify and banish it."

Iwao snorted. "And you believed him? A youkai?"

"Yes. I touched his soul: his offer was true."

A muttering of amazement rippled through the gathered crowd. "Youkai have souls?" muttered someone. Iwao glanced at one of his fellow youkai-slayers, who made a slight gesture. Nodding, he returned his gaze to Kikyo.

"There is no truth in youkai, miko," he said, "not where the Shikon no Tama is concerned. He has beguiled you with some trick. Some illusion."

Behind her, she heard the youkai snort his opinion. _Keep quiet_, she shouted in her mind.

He couldn't hear her, of course.

"Why would I need to trick the miko, man?" he asked scornfully. "If I wished for the Shikon no Tama, I could take it at any time. But why should I want it? Its promises are but a lure and a deceit--I want nothing of it, except to see it disappear."

"All youkai want power, why should we believe you are any different?"

"A mere human thinks he knows 'all' youkai?" came his reply, sounding amused. "How--absurd."

Iwao tensed, his eyes darkening with rage. "Don't sneer at me, youkai. I've taken down bigger youkai than you!"

"Enough!" Kikyo took a step forward. "Iwao-san, youkai-sama, please, stop this! Iwao-san, I am not beguiled, I am not tricked, or under illusion. Your people chose to entrust me with the Shikon no Tama, to purify it and keep it safe. Your people have suffered and died to protect it, to protect me. Do not reject this youkai's offer to protect me! Trust me!"

"Trust you?" Iwao's expression turned ugly. "You disappear, and then strut back to the village, with a handsome youkai on your tail, and expect us to trust you? Our seer, on his deathbed, told us to find you, told us that only you had the purity of soul and the strength to purify the Shikon no Tama. We had faith in his words, so we abandoned what was left of our village, fought our way here, and begged you to take the jewel. And this is how you repay us, woman? Get him!"

Something moved across the corner of her vision. Kikyo whirled. Small, dark-brown balls arched towards the nameless youkai, who was standing absolutely still, his arms crossed over his chest. Two struck him, exploding into puffs of dirty brown that didn't look as if they could possibly affect that armored form.

But, they did. Shock flashed across his face, and then he gagged once, and fell, eyes rolling up in his head.

"No!" Kikyo saw the taijiya running forward, saw the bows of several villagers coming up, and did the only thing she could think. A barrier blossomed, surrounding her and the youkai. Weapons and then bodies bounced off the dome, causing it to ripple momentarily into view with each strike. The half-dozen taijiya regrouped, muttering to each other. Nods passed among them, and they moved apart. But, before they could start an attack, a voice rose from the rear of the crowd.

"Someone tell me, what is going on here."

The villagers drew aside, and Kikyo saw the headman of the village stepping forward.

/==/==/==/==/

Kikyo tried not to despair. But, as the headman huddled with the taijiya and other men in the village, ignoring her one attempt to speak, her thoughts kept turning to 'if only'. If only Yasuo had still been alive. If only Yasuo were holding the impromptu council, instead of his son. Yasuo had been a wise, tactful, and generous man. Yasuo's faith in her and his leadership had kept the village together in the effort to give her the space and protection to deal with the jewel.

But, his son was nothing like him. He had not liked her, even before the arrival of the taijiya and the Shikon no Tama. While Yasuo lived, he had kept his dislike to himself, only displaying it in his frigid formality, the few times he had to address her.

Yasuo had died in the same attack that had killed her sister. In the same attack that had killed the man who had led the remnants of the taijiya clan to the village.

A groan from behind her made her look over her shoulder. The youkai had roused, pushing himself up to his hands and knees, head hanging. "By all the tails of the gods, what hit me?"

The kami had tails? Perhaps youkai had their own gods. "The taijiya threw balls of something at you, youkai-sama," she said softly. "Some of them blew up when they hit you: they didn't look as if they could have hurt you, but you--just fell over." She hesitated, then added, "They did seem to release some sort of bad smell..."

He groaned again. "Woman, calling that a 'bad smell' is like calling a boulder falling on your head a speck of dirt!" He shoved himself to his feet, swaying a little before he recovered his balance. The face he turned to her was haggard, almost grey. "The taijiya--those are the youkai-slayer people? The ones that handed you the jewel?"

She nodded. "They're the ones wearing the armor."

The youkai held one fist against his temple, almost squinting as he looked at the crowd. "Youkai hide for armor, and youkai bones for weapons. What wonderful people."

"Many youkai do attack humans, for no apparent reason, youkai-sama," Kikyo reminded him, somewhat stiffly. "You can't blame people for defending themselves, or others who need help."

He gave her a sour look, and then sighed and looked away. "No." He brought his other hand up to his head, rubbing both temples. "I didn't think humans had anything that could bring me down like that."

Kikyo thought about how her arrows had disintegrated against his overwhelming youki. "I didn't know there were youkai powerful enough to shrug off my sacred arrows," she retorted.

He gave her a thin smile. Before he could respond, however, they both noticed the headman breaking away from the crowd, flanked by Iwao and another taijiya. Kikyo took a step forward, hoping the youkai understood her brief hand gesture, that she wanted him to stay back. Hajime stopped short of the barrier, and placed his hands on his hips.

"Kikyo, I want to talk to you."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, as she noticed the lack of any polite honorific. Behind her, she felt the youki shift slightly, as he also noticed.

"I am listening, Hajime-dono," she replied, keeping the frost out of her voice with an effort.

He gave her a fake smile. "Kikyo, I know this has been a difficult situation to be in. You've been forced to try to purify an enormously dangerous jewel, and simultaneously, fight off youkai while trying to protect the village. You've lost your sister--and I know how much that hurts, having lost father in the same fight." He tried to look sympathetic. Kikyo wanted to slap him.

"So, I just want you to know; we understand your situation. We've taken heavy losses, you know that, you blame yourself; you just want to be an ordinary miko again. But enlisting the help of a treacherous youkai isn't the way to do it. He'll stab you in the back, first chance he gets, and will steal the Shikon no Tama."

"The youkai-sama has already had ample opportunity to take the jewel, Hajime-dono," she said coldly. "I was unconscious; in his power. And perhaps no one told you what I told Iwao-san earlier--I have touched this youkai's soul. It is a soul with compassion, with integrity. He spoke truth, when he offered to protect me."

Hajime shook his head. "Kikyo, Iwao-dono has fought youkai his entire life, he and all his forefathers. He assures me that even a miko of your powers is susceptible to the charm of the higher-class youkai. Given how greedy, lustful, and unfeeling we know all youkai are, how can we possibly believe in a 'good' youkai?"

Kikyo thought back to all the things that the Shinto priest and a retired miko had taught her. "Not all humans are good, and not all youkai are evil," she said, quoting her teachers. "So I was taught, Hajime-dono; so your father believed."

"You leave my father out of this, you little whore!"

Silence, broken by a low growl. "I should kill him for the insult to your honor, miko-sama."

She held up her hand. "No, youkai-sama." Kikyo let her gaze sweep over the gathered crowd, taking in every suspicious expression, every worried look, every apprehensive glance. Her heart cried out in pain. "It would do no good." Kikyo turned her attention back to the young headman, resolutely refusing to let her grief show.

"What do you want, Hajime-dono?" she asked.

He blinked, then smirked, as he realized he'd won. "Let the taijiya kill the youkai, and we'll continue to protect you."

The youkai snorted. "As if they could, little man! Just because--"

"Peace, youkai-sama," she said, interrupting him. "The answer is no, Hajime-dono."

"Either let us kill him, or be banished from the village. Little whore."

Kikyo gave him a long look, which he returned, sneering. She left her gaze to the taijiya. "And you and your people, Iwao-san?" she asked. "When you came with the jewel, your people said you would all stay and protect the jewel, myself, and the village."

"You broke faith with us, miko," he spat. "You can stay here, on the headman's terms, or give over the jewel and leave with your youkai lover."

Most of the other taijiya looked uneasy, but no one spoke.

The youkai muttered behind her in a voice barely loud enough to hear. "If that jewel is as powerful as I think, they'll be dead in a moon, if you leave it with them."

Kikyo gave the slightest nod possible, to let him know she'd heard. She let her gaze sweep over the gathered people one last time, seeing the faces of people who had been friends, or just acquaintances. Amaya, the old midwife and herbalist. Satsuki, a gentle, older woman, as wise as Yasuo, who might well have ended up marrying him, had he lived. Kenichi, his young, broad face a display of bewilderment, and growing dismay. She knew them all. Had lived with them, healed them, protected them.

No longer.

She thought of trying to bargain for supplies, but decided against it. Hajime would refuse, just to spite her. She had her small store of coins on her, just as she had her small knife, the jewel, and a charm she had once woven for Kaede. Almost everything material she'd accumulated had been lost in the fire. She had nothing. Nothing but her pride, her skill, and the Shikon no Tama.

And a strange, youkai lord, who had promised to protect her.

Strange, that she had more faith that he would keep his word, than that her own kind would treat her fairly, had she gave into their terms.

Kikyo brought her gaze back to Hajime and Iwao. "I will not betray the youkai to your fears, Hajime. I will not break the word I gave, to protect and purify the Shikon no Tama." She sought Satsuki's gaze. "Satsuki-san, if you could--watch my sister's grave for me--"

She whirled, her mask breaking, unwilling to let them see. "Youkai-sama," she whispered, keeping her hands down with main force, "please, can we leave, now? Swiftly?"

His fur whipped around her, and his arm was around her shoulders. Youki howled around her, and then she was in the air, hearing nothing but the wind in her ears, feeling nothing but the tears freezing on her face, knowing--

Knowing her world was gone.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was originally written for the LiveJournal community, the Wilted Rose, for the 'Faith' prompt. It was originally published on December 13, 2009. It won the contest.


	4. Unreachable

_**Disclaimer:** This piece is based on 'Inuyasha', owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied._

**Chapter 03: Unreachable**

Having no better idea what to do, with the miko banished from her home, the youkai flew himself and the miko back to the cave they had sheltered in before. Landing, he released her, only to have to catch her as her knees failed to hold her. Carrying her, he set her down next to the fire pit he had created the night before, before stirring up the embers of the fire he'd left behind, adding the last of the wood. Finishing, he studied the face of his human companion.

Tears slid down her colorless cheeks, though she was not making any of the noises he associated with human grief. Her eyes were staring and unfocused. The youkai took a sharp sniff, frowning, intending to analyze her scent. The next moment, he barely keeping from wincing as his sinuses throbbed with pain. Swearing silently--and vowing that he would never underestimate humans again--he narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on her aura. He could feel--faintly--the barrier about the jewel she wore. But, he could barely sense her aura. It felt pale, cold, flat; almost, as if she were not entirely there.

He frowned. He felt as if he should be doing something; it seemed to him as if she needed something, that this silence was wrong. But, what did he know about humans? Beyond the fact that they lived short lives, that they killed each other a lot, that they died for--lots of reasons. That most of their kind feared and hated youkai. That a few--such as this woman--could kill youkai with their own power.

But, he had no direct experience with their kind. As far as he knew, humans had nothing he needed--he could feed himself quite well from the wild, and his clothes, unlike the things humans made, needed no tending or frequent replacement. What did he know about their ways? Killing them was simple, as he had learned, when some fool attacked a second time, unable to take the hint that being ignored or tossed several times their own length should have given them. But, how did one _help_ a human? He was youkai. He didn't--couldn't--know.

And yet, something deep inside him compelled him to try. He had promised to protect her. But, he acknowledged to himself, he had only thought in terms of protecting But that, had been against the external foes that he knew would come for the jewel. He hadn't been able to protect her from the words and deeds of her own kind: indeed, his presence might have made it worse. He didn't even know, if doing something now would be help or harm.

But, he could not just sit here.

/==/==/==/==/

Iwao watched the youkai fly off with the miko, feeling a bit stunned. He'd been disgusted and furious by the miko's action in bringing a youkai with her back to the village. But, he hadn't really expected the woman to chose the youkai over her own people, in the end. She should have argued, should have cried, begging them to listen to her, to understand her reasons. They should have been able to knock her arguments down. She should have been too weak, to have stood up to the idea that she would lose all of her protections, if she didn't give up her foolish infatuation with the youkai.

"That--little, whore of a bitch!"

That was the young headman. Iwao sighed silently. To himself, he had to admit, Hajime-san hadn't helped. Not that he hadn't helped matters, himself, but at least, he hadn't completely insulted her.

"What are we going to do?"

Iwao glanced up at the taijiya towering over him. "We'll have to go after her, Takeo." His gaze slid back to the hill over which the youkai had flown. "At least Tatsuo's healed up--that youkai's going to be hard to track."

Takeo grunted. Tatsuo was one of the rare taijiya born with spiritual power. An itinerant monk had over-wintered with the village when the boy was twelve, giving him the basic knowledge and training to handle his gifts. His ability to sense youkai auras had saved them more than once on the trip to the village.

"So you're planning on going after the whore, right?"

Iwao met the angry headman's gaze with his best phlegmatic expression. "The Shikon no Tama is ultimately our responsibility, Hajime-dono. When we have tracked down and killed the youkai, we will determine if Kikyo-san can still purify the jewel. If she does, we will bring her and the jewel back with us. If not..." He shrugged. "We will have to seek out another."

"I want that bitch back here!" snarled Hajime.

Iwao wondered why the young man seemed to loath the miko. "My people cannot afford to be burdened with a sullied woman. If you wish to send your own men that is your concern; but ours are only with the Shikon no Tama." He turned away, ignoring the young man's spluttering. "Takeo, gather the men--we'll have to leave Isamu, Hideo, and Tsuyoshi, but the others should be ready. Gather enough supplies for a week--our best chance of catching them will be if we don't have to stop and hunt. Tell Tatsuo that he's riding Kirara--he needs to save his energy for tracking."

"And to figuring out how to get through that barrier."

Iwao nodded, mentally kicking himself for forgetting that interesting little bit.

Though it did have a positive aspect--it meant the miko hadn't lost her powers.

Yet.

/==/==/==/==/

She had not responded to his quiet calls. Nor had she reacted when he tucked his cloak around her chilled body. Part of him wanted to simply sit back and wait--surely the human would come out of this--condition sooner rather than later. After all, she was only human. Short-lived, with frequent physical needs that had to be met.

But, a stronger part cried out that he needed to get her to respond. If nothing else, he couldn't tell whether the jewel was being affected. Its aura was obscured by the barrier she had placed around it earlier, but what if that failed?

And a bit of him was simply--scared. For no reason he knew.

He gingerly touched her cheek with the back of his fingers, noticing that her skin was easily as cold as it had been the night before. Nothing happened. He shifted his hand down to her shoulder, grasping it as delicately as he could. "Miko-sama," he said, a bit louder than his first efforts. Still nothing. "Mi--Kikyo-sama." He tried shaking a little bit harder.

She still might have been little more than a silently-weeping corpse. The youkai leaned back on his heels, trying to come up with a different idea. He didn't want to keep shaking her. He didn't know just how fragile humans were. But knowing that he could bring down a decent-sized tree with just one blow, he was worried that he could easily injure her.

Trying to think of something else to do, he let his thoughts drift over his interactions with her. Despite the supposed antipathy between youkai and priestess, she hadn't really shown any discomfort being around him, once he had controlled his youki. He had gotten into the habit of keeping that "I'm dangerous, be afraid, stay away" edge in his youki over the year--it had solved the problem of nuisance attacks. She had clearly sensed that edge and been frightened, despite her evident courage. But, she had relaxed quickly enough once he'd dampened that edge.

Since she wasn't responding to physical touch, then … The youkai grimaced. He wasn't sure he wanted to do this, but the clamoring alarm in him that insisted he couldn't just simply wait wouldn't shut up. Shifting his weight forward, he studied the white, unresponsive face a moment longer. Then, with an unvoiced sigh, he pulsed his youkai.


	5. Be Careful What You Promise

_**Disclaimer:** This piece is based on 'Inuyasha', owned by Rumiko Takahashi. No copyright infringement intended or implied._

**Chapter 4: Be Careful What You Promise**

"Ah, miko-sama, might you be willing to draw back your barrier? I truly was only attempting to attract your attention, not attack you."

Shaking, every muscle tense, radiating her miko power and her barrier at full strength, Kikyo did not immediately make sense of those deep-voiced words. She had forgotten what she had been doing before a flash of youki, at very close range, had snapped her to her feet, her defenses exploding with the sudden strobe of sheer, uncontrolled terror.

"Kikyo-sama? Can you hear me? I do not think that you can kill me, but this position is becoming quite--uncomfortable."

Her name registered. Her attacker knew her name? For a moment, her terror flared even higher. But, then, rationality began to filter back into her head--and curiosity. No youkai attacker had even called her by name--how could a youkai know her name? Realizing that her eyes were closed, Kikyo forced them open, and then lowered her arms from in front of her face.

Spread-eagled against the rough wall of a cave was a silver-haired youkai in human form. He was surrounded by the blue lightning of her barrier reacting to his youki, and despite his words, looked not to be uncomfortable, but in acute pain. Kikyo stared at him a moment, and then memory came rushing back.

"Oh!" Startled and dismayed, Kikyo dismissed her barrier. The youkai dropped to the floor, crumpling to hands and knees. The next moment, as her terror left, all of her energy went with it, and she also found her legs buckling. What she fell on, however, was not bare rock, but fur. She felt the sting of energy crawling over her hands and legs. Looking down, she saw the fur she was sitting on was hazed with blue, every single hair was standing on end. Exclaiming again, she crawled off it, staring wide eyed as it fluffed out even further once her weight came off it. "Umm... youkai-sama," she said timidly. "Your ... cape..."

He let out a groan. "Miko-sama, if I am ever tempted to underestimate your kind again, please remind me of this." As Kikyo managed to pull her gaze away from the amazingly puffed up fur, the youkai staggered to his feet. While weaving like a drunken man, the youkai made his way across the cave. A length from her, he went to his knees again. He reached out with a shaking hand towards the fur.

Kikyo's eyes widened as the fur moved. It twitched a time or two, and then shot forward. In moments, it was firmly wrapped around his torso and his arms, the fur flattening, as if each hair were trying to reach contact with the youkai's skin. "What is that thing?" she asked. "That's not a simple cape--is it alive? Is it some sort of--of pet?"

He didn't answer as his face twisted with pain--or concentration. Kikyo bit her lip and hugged herself, feeling chilled, but not willing to try to move closer to the fire. Staring at the youki, she tried to understand what was happening. His face looked haggard and pale, as best she could judge in the flickering light. He had leaned back into a sitting position, his arms crossed and his hands invisible in the fur wrapped around them. His youki was 'brighter' to her inner vision than it had been at any point during their first stay in the cave, but it was pulsing erratically, a skittering whirl of dark-strobed scarlet and gold. There was none of the fear-inducing threat that had so cowed her the first moment of awakening; there was also no sense of the strong control that had been part of his youki up thus far. This, then, must be his inherent aura, unaffected by his will. It was, she reflected, quite the most complicated youki aura she had ever seen. Most were muddy and dark, reflecting the mindless lust of their sources. Even the relatively few youkai who could manage intelligible speech and take something approaching human form who had approached her, hoping to take the jewel by craft or by wit, had never displayed such multi-hued energies surrounding them. It was almost fascinating--

Kikyo cut her thoughts off with a snap as she realized what she was thinking. She looked down, warding her inner sight, dismayed at herself. Was this not the great danger she had been warned about--the ability of some of the most powerful youkai to fascinate, to beguile? Could she deny that this youkai, in his current form, must be accounted handsome, at least, if one saw past the odd coloring of hair and eyes? Had she, as Iwao thought, been beguiled?

She clasped her hand to her mouth, as she abruptly remembered that terrible scene in the village. Iwao shouting at her, Hajime sneering. The looks of revulsion, and the utter refusal to listen. Ultimatums that gave her no choice. Because she was a woman. Because a youkai stood behind her.

She had already lost the last of her family. (Oh, Kaede!) Now she had lost--friends, the village, her reputation--

Nothing. She had nothing.

Curling up against the rocky, unforgiving wall, Kikyo began to cry.

/==/==/==/==/

Back in the barn that had served as their armory and main living space since they had chosen to stay at the village, Iwao went back over his choices as the taijiya packed supplies for the oncoming trip. He was more worried than he would admit to any of his men, even Takeo. He was certain that no ordinary youkai could have overcome the miko's training and will so quickly. It had fallen to the stink pellets quickly enough, and would have been slain, had the miko's barrier not protected it. But, he strongly suspected that the youkai would not be taken by surprise a second time. Furthermore, they would have to battle the miko's barrier as well as the youkai himself. The taijiya did have some tools and tricks they could try, but it would be an uncertain thing--

A gasp made him turn around. Tatsuo, their young seer, had been meditating in an effort to determine the location of their prey. His eyes were open wide, and he had fallen out of his mediation position, propped up by his hands. Iwao took three steps and dropped to one knee by the boy. "Tatsuo? What did you see?"

The odd, midnight-blue eyes looked at him, blinking. "Youki pulse," the boy said. "His youki. Not very far."

"Good." Iwao patted the boy's shoulder. "Very good." And it was, he thought, as he helped the boy to his feet, then sent him over to join the others. A cautious youkai would have kept its youki firmly in check. A wise youkai would have fled with its prizes at least far enough to be out of short-term attack by those it had already encountered. If this youkai were being careless, then the better for his people. Careless youkai made mistakes, which turned them into dead youkai.

"Iwao!"

The head taijiya turned, keeping his reaction to the headman's rude shout carefully buried. "When are your men going to be ready?" demanded the young Hajime, scowling. "My men have been ready for long enough to cook rice!"

"Haste for the sake of haste leads to stumbling in the dark," replied Iwao, lifting his unscarred eyebrow just slightly. "So how many are you taking with you?"

"Taking?" The headman gave him a gaping stare, then sputtered. "Look, I'm the headman, remember? I can't go! You're taking them!"

Iwao gave him his coldest expression. "I am not responsible for anyone you send to tag along behind us. If you do not wish for your men to end up in our way, then make sure one of your people is in charge, and knows what he is doing."

The boy--for really, in Iwao's estimation--that is all he was--bristled. "You said my men could go with you! That means you're in charge of them!"

"Correction. I said you could send your own men if you were concerned with retrieving a sullied miko: I made no offer to assist you and your people in that effort." Iwao paused, and then added, "There is nothing preventing from your people leaving now--if they think they know where they're going."

Hajime's face turned red. He glowered at Iwao for a long moment, fists clenched, and then whirled, and stalked away. Iwao glanced at his second, who grimaced. "A fool for a headman," muttered Takeo. "Not what we need."

"Not quite a fool, Takeo-san," said an old, cracked voice behind them. "Angry, jealous, and not thinking, yes."

The pair whirled. Amaya looked up at them, her wrinkled face further folded by her thin smile. "He was training under the daimyo, hoping to expand his family's control beyond the village by becoming a samurai. But, when the accident crippled his hand…" she shrugged. "He's always blamed Kikyo."

Iwao studied the old herbalist a moment, and then nodded curtly. "Understood, baa-chan," he said. "But there's little difference I can see. If Hajime-san can't think with his head instead of his anger, we're all endangered."

She nodded, her expression going grim. For a moment, she appeared about to say something, before shaking her head. "Tsuyoshi-san wants to speak with you before you leave."

Iwao tried not to feel his emotions clench. "How is he?" he asked.

She sighed. "Without Kikyo-sama's healing touch to ease the pain?" she asked. "Not good."

Iwao looked at her, and silently cursed all youkai who had ever learned to beguile human women. Tsuyoshi had been badly burned in the fire youkai attack. Kikyo's knowledge and skill had kept him alive. But had Tsuyoshi healed enough, to survive without her aid? He didn't know.

"I will go to him," he said aloud, giving the herbalist a brief bow. "Thank-you for tending him, Amaya-san."

She shook her head. "Just find a way to bring Kikyo-sama back, Iwao-dono. And … don't shame her."

His fur had been badly hurt by the miko's energies. He had been hurt by her panicked reaction, and it was taking far more youki than he liked to return the silvery mass to its normal lively, billowy state. He couldn't remember ever being this drained. Of course, thanks to that cursed magnolia, he couldn't remember more than how many years it had been since his awakening.

The fur finally relaxed enough to release its tight grip on his arms and torso, slipping down onto his legs and spilling onto the ground. The youkai found his own muscles relaxing as the pain receded. He stroked the fur for a moment, and then mentally urged the fur back up and over his shoulders, to resume its normal position down his back.

Leaning back, he looked around, belatedly aware that he had dropped too many of his defenses as he had healed himself. Frowning, he concentrated on his senses, taking a wary sniff, though his effort should have erased the temporary damage of the human's stink pellets. Nothing shouted 'danger', but the scent of tears was very strong.

Tears. His gazed snapped back to the woman, who was leaning against the opposite wall of the cave, curled up on considered her a moment. She was crying. It was, he supposed, at least an improvement on her earlier condition.

He hoped, anyway.

"Miko-sama?"

She jerked her head up, turning to stare at him. Her eyes were swollen from weeping, her cheeks wet and raw. After a moment, she scrambled to her feet, back against the wall. "What did you do?" she demanded. "You--you attacked me!"

He tried to give her an apologetic look. "Miko-sama, I was attempting to attract your attention. You were…" he hesitated, trying to find words. "Your eyes were open, but it was as if you were not--awake. I spoke with you, I even--touched you, but you didn't respond. I--did not know how long you would be like that, and, we do have decisions to make."

She stared at him, shaking a little. "But you promised to protect me! You attacked me!"

"Miko-sama, I was not attempting to attack you." He grimaced, then smiled thinly. "Believe me, miko-sama--I don't want to attack you. You are quite the dangerous woman, you know."

The human continued to stare at him for some moments, and then started to relax. Blinking, she studied him, slowly sliding back down the wall. "I'm … sorry," she said. "I--I guess I was--in a kind of shock. All I felt was the youki, and I reacted…"

He nodded, feeling his own body relax a bit further. "If this is a condition you are apt to be in again, perhaps you can suggest the best way to get your attention, next time."

It was her turn to grimace. "Drop me in a cold river, maybe." Closing her eyes, she pressed her hands against her temples. "Please, not youki."

"I promise I will remember your preferred solution," the youkai stated, feeling an odd trickle of amusement, for no reason he understood.

A smile twitched one corner of her mouth, and she looked back up at him, before frowning. "Youkai-sama, what happened to your armor?" She frowned. "And just what is your name?"

He looked down at himself. "Ah. I'm rather afraid you did, miko-sama. The armor is a physical manifestation of my youki, and it didn't survive absorbing your reiki."

"Are you hurt?"

Was that a note of concern in her voice? The youkai gave her a thoughtful look, before shaking his head. "I lost considerable youki, but there is no permanent injury." He paused as something ran through him. "Though I will need to hunt, soon."

"Hunt?" A definite note of wariness was in her voice. "What--what does a youkai like yourself hunt?"

"Animals," he replied promptly. "I do not hunt humans," he said, just a trifle coolly. "Kill them, if they attack me or what I protect. But hunt them? No."

He read her relief, and felt oddly irritated. What were humans, that he should care about their lives? There was no reason to hunt them, for there was always better prey. He didn't prey on emotions or intelligence--human hunts would be nothing but a bother. And he didn't care what she thought--he had made her a promise, purely to get rid of that annoying trinket, and that was all.

"I need to hunt, and I assume you probably do or will need to eat," he said, trying to keep his inexplicable irritation out of his voice. "I also assume that those taijiya are probably going to try to track us down, to get you and that jewel back. Agreed?"

She nodded silently.

"So. I need to keep you safe while I hunt, and I would prefer to simply avoid those humans. This is your territory, miko. Where is the best place that fills our needs?"

/==/==/==/==/

Hajime watched the two groups leaving, trying not to simmer. Eight taijiya walked in the front group, including two of their women, while the ninth flew overhead on that flame-footed cat. His people--five in all--trailed behind the taijiya, three with bows and two with spears.

He wanted to be with on the hunt with them. He wanted to be the one who tracked that Kikyo down and dragged her back to the village in shame.

After all, wasn't everything her fault? Wasn't it her fault for attracting his attention, when he had arrived home from a season of training, to discover a new miko living in the village. He'd heard the others commenting about her coolness, but all he'd seen was the beauty. The beauty which should be at his side. She'd make a perfect wife, perfect mother of strong, gifted sons and beautiful daughters, perfect for his goals of rising in the ranks, of expanding his family's wealth and land, until they were recognized as at least minor nobility.

But she'd snubbed him, ignored every overture, every smile. She had tried to act as if she didn't know what he was doing, though that made no sense. She had plenty of time and plenty of smiles for her ugly little sister--and for all the rest of the brats in the village. But for him? Nothing.

And, then, the accident. He shouldn't have been taking part in the harvest; he was supposed to be above the chores of a mere farmer. But, his father had insisted that every hand was needed, given the weather rolling in, and he could hardly disrespect his father. But, if Kikyo hadn't so obviously spurned him, if her disdain hadn't led to all the gossip, and the sniggers from the other young men, he wouldn't have gotten so angry, wouldn't have been trying to prove that he was better--

He'd lost half his hand, and all his opportunities. And she claimed she couldn't heal his hand. All that power everyone said she had, and it couldn't do a thing to fix his hand.

He did finally get something from her besides cool disdain.

But, her pity just made him hate her.

And that was before she'd brought ruin to the village, by accepting that jewel. She should have turned those taijiya away--or left with them. Then all the raids by youkai swarms wouldn't have happened. His father, his brothers wouldn't have died.

And, now, to think that she'd found a mere youkai more attractive than he! She wasted herself, sullied herself with a youkai, and she'd had the gall to stand there and look unashamed, and then turn her back on her own kind. She was disgusting, a stinking swamp beneath a pretty exterior.

Someday, he'd find a way to show her what she had become.

If he were lucky, his men would drag her back. Tied up, bound, helpless.

If not …

If only he didn't have to stay in the village and be the headman. If only his family honor didn't require him to stay, to pretend to be everything his father had been and he was not…

If only he hadn't promised himself that he would make her his wife. A promise he couldn't stand to keep now, even if she appeared back at his feet, broken and sobbing. He'd been a fool.

But no more.

No more.

/==/==/==/==/

Hunger strained his temper. Left to his own desires, he would have given himself over to the hunt and the call of the blood. But, as he stalked the forest, searching for a suitable beast, he was bound by a promise to a woman. A promise that required him to keep a considerable part of his attention on the scent and tingle of the miko's barrier, under which she was searching for her own meal of fruit and roots. He had promised to protect her. The failure to protect her from her own people's attitude was scarcely his fault, but it certainly pointed out the rashness of his decision. How many other things could he not protect her from?

He should have limited the promise to protecting her physically.

What was he, what was his past, that he had felt so impelled to offer a mere mortal his protection?

Why couldn't he have just ignored her?

Baka youkai.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally published on the Wilted Rose community on LiveJournal, on February 22, 2010, for the prompt "Promise." It took first place.


	6. For Shikon's Sake

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**For Shikon's Sake**

The young buck crumpled to the ground, instantly dead. The nameless youkai knelt by the corpse, eyes flickering faintly with red as he sank one set of claws into the ribs above the heart, and pulled the unbound life force to himself. The soul of the mortal animal drifted free from the body. He watched it drift uncertainly away. _Go in peace_, he thought to it, _and return in what form suits you_. Some youkai would feed on souls; he did not. Even the haku—the life force—was something he rarely feasted on. But, the miko's power had played havoc with his own: he needed more than merely solid sustenance.

Blood-tipped claws hovered over the belly, then hesitated, as he sensed youki stirring. Tensing, he growled softly, flicking a flash of warning into his own aura, adding the warning edge that it customarily carried. The distant youki flinched and faded rapidly. He waited, all senses alert. But, the youki did not return, leaving only the sparse and subtle auras of the lesser youkai whose instincts led them to hide, rather than flee from the more powerful. They were as nothing to him, and so he discounted them. Relaxing a trifle, he returned his attention to his prey, grumbling sotte-voce as he noticed how the blood how cooled. His eyes darkened as something within him surged, and then writhed in pain as the internal bonds clamped down. Snarling silently with rage, the youkai ripped the corpse's belly open with a single stroke. Ignoring the blood and the stench, he quickly gutted the body, pulling out the liver, and devouring it without the least concern for what humans would have called manners. Which was why he had reluctantly decided to leave the woman behind for his hunt. How he knew that humans were squeamish when it came to blood, he didn't know, but, for whatever reason, he knew that making the priestess watch him hunt and eat would—add difficulties—to her ability to work with him.

He just wished he could enjoy a meal of fresh kill, without his head throbbing.

... ... ...

"Xue-maoyin-sama. I have the news you seek."

A woman of surpassing beauty, dressed in rich, white, and blue robes fashioned to a mainland nobility, her white hair piled into an elaborate mound, held and decorated by sapphire combs, sat in a small clearing on a pile of rocks, petting a large, tawny-furred, dagger-toothed cat. Ice-blue, vertically-slit eyes surveyed the nearly-transparent, human-shaped form of the ice-youkai who had materialized in front of her, her perfect, pale face betraying no expression. The lesser youkai straightened from his bow, his long hair, bound in a topknot, murmuring very faintly as it shifted, as if each strand were made of crystal.

"I have located the Shikon no Tama."

The tawny snow cat snapped his head up at the words. Sitting up on his haunches, he stared at the ice-youkai; his tufted ears pricked. The woman placed one, pale-white, silver-clawed hand on his head. "Continue."

The youkai bowed again, shifting the white, silver-bladed naginata to a slightly-straighter position as he did. "The Shikon no Tama is in the possession of a miko—a young priestess. She is in the woods not far from here. She is possessed, according to the tree sprites, of fearsome power, and slays any youkai which come near to her. However, a rock insect I spoke with just before returning, said that it sensed a tremendous clash of youki and reiki just before sun-high. The youki, it said, tasted of inu, and there was no taint of death, from either side."

The cat stiffened, yowled, and then disappeared in a ball of light. As the glow faded, a boy of perhaps thirteen, every bit as richly dressed as the woman, though in white and purple, stood in the cat's place. His hair as tawny as the cat's fur; his bright, scarlet eyes gleamed with excitement. "Inu youkai? Which inu? Is it the Inu no Taisho legends speak of, or his son?"

The woman turned her head to gaze on the boy. There was still no overt expression on her face, but the boy, after a single moment meeting those ice-blue eyes, dropped down to his elbows and knees in a bow of complete obeisance. "Great and revered lady mother, forgive me," he whispered. "I spoke out of turn."

"Yes, you did, my son," she said, in a cold voice that could have been a breath of wind over a glacier. She made a gesture with her hand. The boy's figure flashed, and transformed back into the cat, crouching with flattened ears. At a further flick of a finger, he crawled towards her, placing his head back in her lap. "Do not let your passions overtake the ice in your heart, my son," she murmured, stroking his forehead. "Our strength is in the winter snow: your father allowed the heat of his pride and his anger to weaken him, and so Lord Hyoga easily destroyed him."

She returned her attention to the ice youkai. "The inu's identity?"

He bowed, discomfort passing over his translucent face. "I crave a pardon, great lady, but no name is attached to this one. It is not the son of the legend—of that, those I spoke with were certain. The taiyoukai of legend, the one which defeated your lord Hyoga, is said to have been destroyed by the gods themselves, after he ran mad. Some doubt the truth of that, but there has been no sign of the great dog in many decades."

"So, you do not think this is he?" she queried.

"My lady, I ventured close enough to touch the fringe of his youki. It is quite strong, and rings with threat. But, the power of a taiyoukai is not present, unless it is exceedingly well hidden."

The icy eyes captured him and held him still for long moments, as if searching for the truth in his aura. "This one is not displeased, Aisumaru," she said, releasing her gaze. "This one would meet this—inu."

Her son lifted his head, making an interrogative chirp. When she nodded, he backed away and transformed to his human form. "Lady mother, why do you want to meet with a dog?" he asked.

Her expressionless face shifted, allowing a thin smile that was no warmer than an ice shard. "The dog could be useful," she told him. "Did you not hear Aisumaru's report, that the dog fought the miko, but with no clear outcome? He shares our goal, does he not? Together, we can succeed where he cannot."

"But, surely, great mother, you do not need help to defeat a lowly human!" he exclaimed.

"True, but why take chances, if a gullible dog can be persuaded to take the charge, thinking he has my support?" A malicious glint appeared in her pale eyes. "I aide him with power sufficient to overcome the mortal, but only as he is drained. Then, when the jewel is within reach, he will have no power left to oppose me."

The boy nodded, excitement lighting his eyes. "Oh, beautiful, great mother! You will play on his inu instincts for loyalty, then betray him! How clever! Oh, please say, that I may have the honor of finishing him off!"

An extended finger silenced him and subdued his exuberance. "My son, you will not come with me. You have yet to learn to mask the scent of your youki: no higher youkai seeking the Shikon no Tama will be inclined to trust, especially one with a scent inimical to his own." His expression sagged in disappointment. "Besides, my dear, little son," she murmured, "I have another task for you."

"What is it? What is it?" He barely kept himself from capering.

"Calm yourself, little kitten. I will tell you."

... ... ...

Despite his overt refusal to take responsibility for the handful of villagers Hajime had ordered along, Iwao nevertheless was acutely aware of their presence. He kept the taijiya pace to something they could handle, giving a short, fierce glower at Takeo when the tall warrior gave him an amused glance. The other taijiya took the hint and kept their opinions to themselves, striding easily, while the farmers were already beginning to puff.

They had not been on the road very long when Kirara dove into sight, young Tatsuo astride her back. "Iwao-san!" he called out while still well above the ground. "I found her—and she's alone!"

Exclamations rose from the farmers, but the taijiya disciplined their reactions. Iwao gave a choppy gesture, and waited until Kirara settled to the ground. "Where?"

Tatsuo slid to the ground. "Northeast. Well into the woods, off the road. You'd have to travel about four to five ri up the road, then about three through the woods."

"Where was the youkai?"

"I think at least several ri deeper in the woods." Tatsuo grimaced. "I briefly had to trance to locate his aura—it's there, but far off." He added, after a moment of thought, "Kikyo-sama has a barrier up."

Iwao's eyes narrowed as he thought. He could think of three reasons why the youkai had left the miko—either she had changed her mind and driven him off, he had stolen the jewel and taken off, leaving her unable to follow but not defenseless, or he was just temporarily apart, and planning to rejoin her.

After a few more moments of thought, he turned to Takeo. Outlining the possibilities, he continued. "I think some of us need to get to her as fast as possible. She's had time to cool down—even if he's just away temporarily, maybe we can talk to her, get her to change her mind."

Takeo looked doubtful, rubbing his hairless pate. "After the way Hajime insulted her?"

Iwao scowled, but shook his head. "She's human, and a woman. Part of her has to want to remain loyal to her kind. And if he's that far off, his aura can't be influencing her like before. This should be our best chance to get her and the jewel back—but we need to hurry."

"But—"

"You bring everyone along the road at their best speed," Iwao ordered, jerking his head to indicate the knot of farmers. "I'll leave a sign at the road where to turn off—find a place to camp, and wait. I'll leave Tatsuo with you—if I'm not back by morning, Takeo, use your own judgment. Just remember that it's our responsibility to keep control over the Shikon no Tama. Regardless of the costs."

Takeo frowned. "I'm not forgetting, Iwao. But, I don't like the thought of you going alone..."

"I'm not. I know I'm not the best person to remind her of where her loyalties should lie." Iwao turned, and pointed a finger at one of the huddle of villagers. "But, you are."

... ... ...

The nameless youkai had selected a good spot to leave her. There were late, wild apples still hanging from branches, tubers scattered among the growth along the stream, fish in the aforementioned stream, from which he had kindly scooped out a smallish pair before vanishing. An open space next to the stream, with ample rocks to build a fire pit, dried grass kindling and ample downed branches for fire.

Fortunately, she had her fire-striker, as well as her knife, to draw sparks. But, she had no dishes, no cooking utensils. The tubers, she wrapped in dampened grass, then buried under a layer of dirt, on top of which she built the fire. Green sticks skewered the fish, to roast beside the fire. But, when she looked at the handful of herbs she had plucked in her search, she realized that she had nothing in which to steep them. Nothing to even contain water, let alone heat it.

Kikyo threw the herbs into the flame, and then promptly sneezed as an errant breeze whisked the smell of burning herbs back against her face. Moving out of range, she sat down, and picked an apple out of the crude basket she had hastily woven from willow withes. She raised the small fruit to her mouth, but then, returned it to the basket, her appetite disappearing in a fresh wave of despair. Pulling her legs up, she wrapped her arms around them, and leaned her forehead against her knees.

What was she going to do? How was she going to survive, with no supplies? Oh, the youkai could probably keep her supplied with fish, but what about everything else? Was she to live on fish, and whatever she could scrounge from the woods that were entering late fall? How was she to live without rice, without a pot to cook the rice? What about soap? Clean clothes—at least the under things? What would she do when it got colder—what was she going to do for a cape, for boots?

She did have some money on her, so she might buy a few things, if she could reach another village. Assuming they didn't notice the youkai with herself. Assuming they hadn't heard about the miko who had abandoned her people. Assuming they'd be willing to sell to her. But, even if they did, what she had wouldn't go very far. And then what? Barter her skills? How? She knew that a number of monks wandered the countryside, offering their services where needed. But, most miko either stayed in their home village, trained by their predecessor, or, as she had done, locate a village which needed a miko, and settle down. The few mikos which didn't have a settled location—

"Miko-sama!"

The shout came from above. Snapping her head up, Kikyo saw the fire cat hovering just outside the barely visible glint of her barrier. "Drop the barrier, miko," called out Iwao. "We need to talk!"

Scrambling to her feet, Kikyo started to do just that, but then, she hesitated. She remembered the loathing and fury on the taijiya's face, earlier that morning. She remembered how he had refused to listen to her. How he had given her an ultimatum.

If she took down her barrier, what would they do? Try to grab her, take her back to the village against her will? Set a trap for the youkai when he returned?

She couldn't risk it. She couldn't drop the barrier.

But, she could shrink it, leaving room for them to land by the stream.

... ... ...

The youkai leaned back from the remnants of his feast, belly somewhat distended from his gorging, feeling replete. Examining his hands, which were caked with blood well past the wrists, he concentrated a moment, before releasing a tiny wave of youki. Blood—and other detritus—vanished from his hands, his face, his gray silks, his fur. Standing up, he stretched, feeling the tips of his fur twitching slowly in contentment. Best he was getting back to the miko. She was probably safe enough, presently, since, even in her current state, her barrier was truly formidable.

He stiffened, any sense of indolent contentment vanishing, as he realized that the sense of her barrier had changed. And there was a faint sense of youki near her. Dismay and chagrin flared, for he hadn't seriously thought any youkai with a strength less than his own would even consider approaching that barrier. But, of course, so many youkai could be so blind. Growling to himself, irritated at the abrupt end to the enjoyment of his feast, the youkai turned and headed towards the miko.

Youki pulsed behind him. He whirled, and found himself surrounded by an icy, snow-flecked, youkai wind. It whipped around him, temperature within the wind dropping at every moment, clearly an effort to freeze him where he stood.

A useless effort, of course. Growling, he pulsed his own youki, following that up with a spread of blazing, eldritch claws that sped towards the ragged scar where the two winds slammed into each other. The claws entered that scar, exploding in size, and speed, racing back towards the source of that alien youki.

A great, silver blade, sweeping across their path, shattered the golden arcs. Winds died, and a silver-hair youkai with ice-blue eyes, and elaborate, sapphire combs in her hair smiled at him from behind a glowing naginata.

"Greetings, inu-lord," she purred. "You are more powerful than I thought, shattering my little ice-storm."

"You are not unskilled yourself, lady," he responded with equal politeness. "I have met few who can deflect my claws."

"Ah. So we share the surprise of unexpected strength. How delightful, inu lord. You may call this one Xue-sama."

His fur was bristling behind him. "My only desire is to say 'farewell,' lady," he said coldly. "Your presence is not desired."

"No?" She lowered her eyelashes and smiled at him. "But we have more in common than just strength and skill, my lord. After all, do we not both desire the Shikon no Tama?"

* * *

**Translation notes:**

ri = unit of length, about 2.44 miles (3.97 kilometers)

haku = life force (used in volume 34 of the manga)

**Other Note: **This piece was originally published on the LiveJournal community site Inuyasha Et Al, for the prompt 'Loyalty'. It was posted on April 17th, 2010.


	7. Persuasions

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**Chapter 7: Persuasions**

Kenichi stared through the barely visible mist of the barrier. "Kikyo-sama—why?" His voice broke on the last word.

She gave him her remote, emotionless miko face. But, he knew that was not her true face. He had glimpsed her huddled position from the sky, before Iwao's shout. He had a number of memories of her true face, more than most people, who only ever saw the miko. But, the young farmer remembered the softness, the gentle smile on her face when watching the children. He remembered her compassionate expression, after she had saved him from the youkai attack which had killed his father's ox. He had been the only person to see the flash of agony, when her sister's body had been pulled out of the ruins of their hut, before she had spun to face away. He remembered the surprise and relief, when he had brought his little sister Korana to her, explaining as his excuse for bringing her, that his sister had wanted to see that she was all right. Korana had lunged into Kikyo's arms, bursting into tears, wailing for Kaede, her friend and frequent minder. He had seen Kikyo trying—and failing—to hold back her tears, and cried himself, remembering the plucky girl who tried so hard to be like her sister.

"Why, what, Kenichi-san?" she returned.

His gaze faltered, and he stared at the ground as he fidgeted with the unfamiliar spear. He knew he wasn't clever. He'd been told that often enough, after all. He hadn't minded: for him, tending the fields, watching the slow cycle of growth and ripening, being with friends and family: it was—had been—enough. But, how was he supposed to persuade the miko to return?

"I..." He managed to looked back up. "Why-why did you leave us, Kikyo-sama? I-I don't understand..."

Her gaze flicked away from him momentarily, to look at Iwao, before returning. "I had no choice, Kenichi-san," she said. "The youkai lord rescued me, and offered to continue protecting me until I could purify and banish the Shikon no Tama. The headman stated that I could not stay in the village, unless I allowed the tajiya to kill the youkai. For the trust the youkai gave me, for honor, I had no choice."

Kenichi stared at her, his broad face bewildered. "I—still don't understand, Kikyo-sama. How—how could you leave us, for a youkai? Youkai are evil!"

She gave a slight head shake. "Kenichi-san, are all humans alike? Are all humans perfectly good?"

"Uhh..."

There was the slightest shift in her face; almost, the suggestion of a smile. "Hideki the trader, for instance?"

Kenichi scowled at the memory, looking away again. His father had been badly cheated by the trader on his first and only visit to the village: it was Kikyo who had noticed the deceit and called it out. "No," he muttered, wishing she hadn't chosen to remind him.

"All humans aren't the same," she said, "and neither are all youkai. Most youkai who attack the village are little more than mindless desires made flesh. But, some youkai think and feel. And they can choose to do good, or evil, as humans can." She paused a moment. "I touched the youkai lord's soul, Kenichi-san. I know that he has no intent for evil, towards me."

"But, Hajime-dono said you were beguiled, Kikyo-sama." Kenichi remembered the speech the headman had given to the men he had selected to go after the miko. Kenichi didn't understand why he had been selected: he knew he was strong, but he'd never liked to fight, and he couldn't imagine being able to kill a youkai that could overpower Kikyo. But, he couldn't not try to save the miko. She'd done so much for them, and she was a woman. He had to help save her.

… … …

Kikyo sighed inwardly. She felt sorry for the tall, strongly-built youngster: he hated violence, though he was not incapable of it, himself. She wondered what Hajime had been thinking, to send Kenichi after her. Probably, he had simply chosen the young farmer because of his physical strength. Or possibly not. Hajime _was, _she suspected, a person to take petty delight in assigning the young man who was one of her strongest adherents to the group assigned to bring her back.

She assumed there was a group.

"I assure you, Kenichi-san: the youkai lord did not beguile me." She shifted her attention to the taijiya. "Actually, Iwao-san, I wonder at you." She flicked a glance at the cat standing next to him. "You warn me against treacherous youkai, and yet, you, yourself, ride one."

Kirara's ears twitched at that, and her head came up, the red-orange eyes shifting to look at Kikyo. "Kirara is a but an animal," said Iwao, scowling. "She has been used by the tribe for generations." He shifted the long, double-ended spear that was his preferred weapon. "I've yet to hear of an intelligent youkai who was not treacherous, and who did not desire anything but more power."

Kirara flicked an ear, sneezed, dropped her two-tailed rump to the ground, and then extended the off hind leg and began to groom it. Kikyo read disdain in that action, and kept a smile from her face. She had never seen Iwao interacting with the feline, except at a remove: the young seer was generally her companion. But after the fire-youkai attack, a tiny Kirara had sneaked into her room several times late at night, when Kikyo could not sleep, insisting on being petted. The act of stroking the warm, incredibly soft fur had been amazingly calming. That alone, even without other evidence, would have been enough to persuade Kikyo that Kirara was more intelligent than most people assumed.

Kikyo was tempted to ask Kirara what _she_ thought of the youkai who had sworn to protect her, but thought better of it. "Iwao-san," she said, turning her attention back to the taijiya leader, "Has Hajime-dono changed his mind? It is clear you have not. If he has not, then why are you here?"

The older man sighed, putting on a face suggesting long-suffering patience. "Miko-sama, the Shikon no Tama cannot be allowed to slip out of our control. I had hoped that, by now, you would have had time to reconsider."

His eyes glanced behind her, then looked her up and down. Kikyo felt a twinge of discomfort, knowing her eyes must still be red and swollen, despite the water she had splashed on her face. Her hair was also in disarray. And, of course, the fire, with the two small fish roasting on green sticks, with no sign of a pot or any other utensil, was a glaring sign of the hardships under which she would have to labor, outside a village's shelter, and support.

"I have not changed my mind, Iwao-san."

"Oh? And where is your lover now, miko?"

"He is not my lover," she said coldly. "He is hunting—I expect him back soon."

A slight sneer crossed his face. "Couldn't stand to watch a youkai hunt, miko?"

Her glance was chill. "We agreed it would be quicker for him to hunt, while I foraged separately. He is, of course, close enough to respond quickly, should he perceive that I feel threatened."

Iwao's black eyes shifted their focus to the barrier. Casually, he slanted his spear to lean against his shoulder. "Such trust you have, for a treacherous youkai."

"I will remind you, Iwao-san: it is one of my skills to touch the soul, and read its nature. The youkai lord truly desires to protect me, and no intent to harm."

He sighed, very loudly. "Miko, I had hoped, with the distance between you and him, that you might have begun to recover your senses. His skill at beguilement must truly be great."

Kikyo tried not to glare at him. "If his skill were so great, why didn't any of you fall under his spell?"

Iwao smirked. "He didn't have time, of course. _We_ know all about youkai, of course, and we know how to defend ourselves."

She tried not to hate him.

… … …

"After all, do we not both desire the Shikon no Tama?"

The nameless youkai studied the female with narrowed eyes. "We do?" he asked, striving to keep from growling. Something about this youkai made all his fur want to bristle. Bad enough that she'd interrupted the pleasant sensation of satiation from his feeding; but he had the distinct impression that she was attempting to hide something.

She smiled at him; a curve of red lips that did not reach the icy-blue eyes, before turning her back on him. Hands spread out, and a block of ice began to grow before her. "My minions detected the energies of your fight against the miko," she noted cooly, as her chilling youki wind swirled around her and fed into the growing ice. "She defeated you, did she not? She still holds the Shikon no Tama, does she not?"

"She does," he agreed curtly. He folded his arms across his chest, refusing to be impressed by the showy display of power.

The top of the ice shimmered, forming a seat with armrests. Her power died to a mere whisper, and she took a step up and seated herself; the seat leaving her eyes at the same level, as when she had been standing. The smile she gave him hovered on a smirk. "Shall we not combine forces?" she asked. "Together, we can defeat the miko and take the jewel from her."

"I do not need your help to defeat the miko," he stated.

She laughed. "Oh, such pride, my inu lord! They do say the white inu are the most prideful of all the youkai of this land. But, you might consider the advantages of our working together."

_Inu?_ Is that what he was? For not the hundredth time, but at least ten times that, the youkai cursed the treacherous tree and its responsibility for the loss of his memories. He had awoken with no memory of even what he was, let alone who. And he hadn't been about to ask anyone. But being inu _would_ explain his sense of smell, which, by experience, he had learned was far more powerful than most youkai. But, how did she know he was inu? No other youkai who had speech with him (few enough, at that), had acknowledged his type. Of course, they were usually either running away, attacking, or bowing, and scraping, in an effort to wheedle something out of him.

Such as their life.

"What advantages?" He berated himself as he replied too slowly for her not to pick up that something she had said or done had distracted him. She was at least near his equal, and he had no doubt that, if she saw an advantage, any talk of cooperation would disappear in an instant attack. In fact—

By the moon-howl! Abruptly, he realized that she hadn't drawn down her youki, but had simply sent it elsewhere. Into the ground, specifically. He could feel the ground chilling beneath his boots. She was probably quite capable of freezing him to the spot, if he were not careful.

He schooled his body to remain still, but sent a careful, slow pulse through his feet into the ground. He did not have (as far as he knew) a way to create heat with his youki; but that was not really required. Gently, carefully, he started a slow circling of his youki beneath his feet, armoring it to reject any other youki within its space, edging it with 'claws' to rip into any youki it encountered.

The white-skinned, foreign woman continued to smile at him. "I'm sure we could find agreement on a use for the Shikon no Tama, my lord. For instance, did you know that when your overlord, the Inu no Taisho, defeated the invader, Lord Hyoga, that the clan was not destroyed? Lord Hyoga is dead, but both his power and his son Menomaru remain. Both sealed, but seals can be broken."

_Inu no Taisho._ The title echoed and re-echoed, and his temples throbbed, threatening his control over his slowly-growing counter to her attack. He sensed that he should _know _that title, that it was important. _Lightning burn that damned magnolia!_ "And?" he responded, trying to pretend that he wasn't responding to her subtle chilling, trying also to pretend that the meat in his stomach was not quickly going sour, and that he was not on the verge of a truly monstrous headache. "There are much better uses for the Shikon no Tama, than to try to free a trapped, foreign lord."

She laughed. "Oh, no, my lord! Why should I wish to free the son of the youkai who destroyed my own lord?" Her eyes glittered, and, for a moment, hate twisted her face. "If the lord Menomaru revived and found me, he would grind me beneath his feet, shattering me like a shard of ice. But, with the Shikon no Tama, I could shatter him. And, then, the power—"

She hesitated, her eyes widening for just a moment. "The power of his clan would be mine to take." He felt the subterranean youki at the edges of his own increase, and shifted his own a notch upward. "With such power, it would be possible to leave the Shikon no Tama in your hands, without-fighting." He felt her youki ease back from his. "I would be free to return to my home on the mainland, and leave these poor isles to such as you."

Fleeting anger and disdain edged her voice, and the mask she held over her scent slipped to reveal a flicker of anger. The nameless youkai tried not to feel a sense of satisfaction that he had turned back her attack, reminding himself to remain alert.

"A pity that you have found the hospitality of these lands so lacking, my lady," he said with smooth and unhidden insincerity. "Exile must be such a painful existence."

"Oh, it can be," she acknowledged, with a twisted smile. "Your humans' "Yuki-onna " legends are much less satisfying than those of my own lands; but the power I raised from their fears is well enough."

He had to hide an odd stab of anger at her words. "Invocation of human fears and nightmares has always been a path to power," he observed, as neutrally as he could. "So, why should I believe that you would leave the jewel in my hands, should I help you destroy this Menomaru? Is any power ever enough, for a youkai with ambition?"

She laughed, her mask fully back in place. "Oh, come now, my lord! Surely, we are both wise enough to know that power is only the means, not the end? You understand my dream—to take revenge for my lord's death, and to return to my rightful place. What dreams have you that require but the power of the Shikon no Tama?"

He could not imagine what possible result he would ever consider attempting to use such treacherous power, but he could hardly admit it to her. Wondering why she had not attempted another attack, he settled for a careless shrug. "My desires are my own, my lady. Suffice it to say, they are not inimical to your own."

"Now, my lord," she protested. "I have been open with you—should you not be, with me?"

He gave her a bland look. "It is you who have approached me, my lady. If you intend to leave the Shikon no Tama in my possession, what do you care to what purpose I might use the jewel?" With a slight tilt to his head, he considered her a moment, before adding, "I will say that I have no interest in invading your homeland."

"But, I can hardly work with you, if I do not know I can trust you not to betray me."

"A requirement for trust works in both directions." He flicked a glance behind her. "Are you truly so uncomfortable at normal temperatures, that you must freeze those inoffensive, mortal trees about you?"

Her eyes flickered, and her youki dropped, drawing back from the nearest trees, the bark of which was showing the faintest signs of frost. "Forgive me, inu lord," she said with a smile. "It is true, that I prefer the pristine chill of my native mountains. My apologies, to let my youki expand so carelessly. I do hope those trees were not … special to you."

"I prefer the aroma of living, verdant forests, to rotting, freeze-killed wood," he stated. "Now, tell me, my lady: how to you propose that we demonstrate an ability to trust in each other?"

… … …

The adolescent snow-cat padded silently through the woods, circling to stay out of the inu youkai's range, and to get downwind of the human. The latter step he considered quite useless—everyone knew that human senses were pathetically weak, but mama's orders were mama's orders. He wanted to hurry, as well, but again, his mother had been quite specific. She had allowed him to participate in her plans, even act on his own, but only under strict obedience. What mama said, he must do.

He sighed to himself. How he longed for the day when he would be large enough, strong enough, and clever enough, to challenge her control! He understood that planning, and skulking, had their purposes, particularly if it meant keeping them safe from irate youkai that did not appreciate exiles in their country. But it was so boring! How he wanted to just leap openly to the attack, to sink his massive fangs into whatever neck he wished. He was meant to run, to leap, to laugh in their faces, not skulk through the wood like a timid tanuki.

Easing around a particularly-dense patch of brush, the young youkai hesitated as the shifting wind brought new smells to his nose. Humans! But, mama had told him only about the female. Why could he smell two men, as well? And, there was another smell as well, vaguely familiar—

_Neko youkai!_ The young cat jumped backwards, his tail bottling, eyes wide, mouth gaping. He stood absolutely still for several moments, and then bounded forward a handful of jumps, halted again, sniffing deeply. Definitely cat, definitely youkai. He didn't recognize the nuances of the smell, but it was definitely a cat and youkai—and female. And her scent was too closely intertwined with the two male humans to be chance—she was with them! But, why?

The cat shook a little, trying to understand why a fellow feline would be with a trio of stinking, ugly, short-lived humans. It didn't make sense! It was wrong, so wrong, but why, why—

Horrified realization hit like a thunderbolt. Of course! She was a prisoner! Probably under a controlling spell of that dreadful, evil miko! A neko youkai, under the control of those horrible humans! That was so wrong! So horrible! He had to, he had to—do something!

He forgot his orders. He forgot caution. Letting out a yowl of pure outrage, the neko bounded forward, his youki flaring, leaving a wash of frost behind him. How dare they capture a neko! He'd show them! He'd show them all!

… … …

Iwao sat on his frustration as much as he could, for all the good it did. The woman was simply refusing to listen to reason, no matter how patiently he tried to point out the errors and dangers of aligning herself with that youkai. He was horrified at the evidence of how thoroughly the loathsome, albeit handsome, white-haired beast had beguiled such a powerful, once-pure miko. It was obvious, now, that she was far past the point of simple persuasion. They were going to need to take her by force or by guile, and so far, his efforts to persuade her to drop her barrier had been no more successful than his efforts to persuade her that the youkai meant her no good.

He sighed to himself. Time to retreat, he decided. He didn't relish the thought of still being here, with no real backup, when the youkai returned. Time to get back to the others, make camp for the night, and spend some time with Takeo and the others coming up with some plans.

He returned his full attention back to the miko, and made his sigh very audible. "You are a deluded fool, miko, but I have to confess defeat. You do realize what will happen, if the Shikon no Tama gets back into youkai paws?"

"You have warned me of the potential disaster at least three times, Iwao-san," she retorted crisply. "If you have finally realized that insulting my intelligence and my skills is a losing tactic, perhaps we can discuss other, more useful issues."

"Other issues?" he echoed, a bit surprised. "There are no other issues to be discussed, miko. Given that—"

"You're wrong, Iwao-san," she interrupted. "You do still want the Shikon no Tama purified and destroyed, do you not? Given that your current plan, to persuade me to betray and abandon the youkai who offered to protect me, is not working, should you not be considering other things you might do, to move towards your goal?"

"Other things?" What was the youkai-dazzled miko up to, now? Why—

A snarl interrupted his thoughts. Kirara was on her feet, ears flattened, her hackles starting to rise. Iwao was not fond of cats generally, let alone a youkai fire-cat, but he had long since resigned himself to using her. She was, after all, a most useful tool, both for transportation, and for scouting. He knew her body language, well enough to recognize that she had sensed approaching danger.

"Youkai, coming in fast," said Kikyo, confirming Kirara's stance. "Moderately strong youki—damn it, Iwao—why couldn't you have at least brought a bow and quiver!"

He blinked, to hear the miko actually swearing, but forgot about it as he squared away to face the direction Kirara was staring at, raising his two-bladed spear. "Get the boy under the barrier," he ordered. "He doesn't have the speed or training for this. Take his spear, if you think you can do any good with it."

Kenichi started to say something, but the miko overrode him. "Get by the fire, Kenichi," she ordered. "Give me the spear—Iwao's right—you don't have the training for this." She stepped forward, pulled the spear from unresisting hands, and physically rotated, then pushed the boy towards the fire. She stepped up beside Iwao, the heavy spear steady in her hands. "Kirara," she continued, speaking, Iwao couldn't help noticing, with as much crisp authority as he could, himself. "Get off to the side. Attack from the flank if you can, but try to stay out of my range—I don't want to purify you."

It would have irritated him to hear her address the feline as an equal, had he had time to think about anything save the oncoming battle. He saw the feline look around, and then move several paces away, but he absorbed only the change in situation, with a vague sense of approval.

Even that reaction fled, as a huge, tawny-furred neko youkai leapt into the clearing. Slightly larger than Kirara, but with upper fangs just as long and lethal as hers, he paused barely a moment, before springing straight towards the human pair. Iwao deepened his stance, preparing for attack—

Kirara sprang from the side. She just missed her target on the back of his neck, as the other neko yelped and tried to dodge at the last moment. Their colliding bodies tumbled wildly, taking them both into the stream. Hisses and snarls erupted as the two cats lurched out of the water, shaking the hated stuff from their coats. Squaring off, they faced each other, a little more than a length away. Kirara crouched, snarling, her twin tails whipping back and forth just above the ground. The other neko, however, started to crouch, and then visibly hesitated. He stared at the furious, menacing Kirara. And then, head tilting, ears half-flagged, he gave a tiny mew.

The twin tails stilled. Kirara raised her head slightly, sniffing. Easing her stance, she continued to sniff, moving closer. The other cat did not quite shrink away as she approached him. The firecat gave his muzzle a thorough sniffing, her stance relaxing further.

And then, without warning, she lashed out with a claws-sheathed paw and boxed his ear, sending him tumbling. He yowled, and disappeared in a flash of light.

A red-eyed boy with pointed ears, richly dressed in mainland style, looked up at Kirara with a horrified and bewildered expression, holding his bruised cheek, and smarting ear. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Why did you do that for? I was trying to rescue you!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**This chapter was originally posted to the LiveJournal community 'Inuyasha Et Al' for the prompt 'Horror', on May 31st, 2010. It won the contest. (Apologies for taking to long to post it here!)


	8. Lessoning the Kitten

_**Disclaimer:**__ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

**Lessoning the Kitten**

Kirara started, as the young neko youkai she had just disciplined popped into a human shape. She sniffed. No mistake: neko youkai, though his scent hinted of ice and snow, just as hers did of fire.

_Rescue_? She huffed, amused, at his human speech. A kitten, thinking to rescue _her_?

Yawning widely, she sauntered over to him, sniffed in his face, tapped his head with her paw. He cringed. Turning around, raising her tails high, she trotted towards the humans, shrinking as she went. Resisting the temptation to show Iwao what she thought of him, she headed towards the miko, confidently expecting not to run into a nasty barrier. Pausing at the human's feet, she looked up, crouched, and leapt up onto her shoulder. Kikyo jumped and squeaked: Kirara ignored her reaction, rubbing her head against the human's cheek, following up with a rough swipe of her tongue before leaping back down.

She walked back to the kitten, resuming her full size, letting the flames build high. Standing tall over the cowering human form, she wrinkled her muzzle in a snarl, ears flat. _Mine, _she conveyed to the kitten. _Go away._

"But ... but ... you can't..."

With a careful paw, she interrupted his stumbling chatter and pulled him over onto his stomach. Delicately, she took hold of his collar, and started to drag him out of the clearing. He yelped, transformed, pulled away from her, then whirled to face her, ears and haunches down, tail tucked in. _Why?_ he mewed.

She growled, letting her hackles, and her flames rise. _Go_!

He fled, yowling. _Mama_!

Mrrr. More trouble. Not just a silly kitten. A silly, _unweaned_ kitten, with mama nearby.

Kirara sighed. As if she didn't have troubles enough...

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yes, this is a short chapter. Call it a prelude to what happens next. In truth, while being a bit stuck on getting started on the real chapter, I ended up inspired to write this little piece on Kirara for the LiveJournal community Inuyasha's Unsung Heroes (iy_unsung_heroes). (Posted 9/29/2010.) Just consider this an appetizer, to hold you until the big chapter gets up...


	9. Cats & Dog

**_Disclaimer:_**_ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

* * *

**Chapter 9: Cats and Dog**

The golden-eyed youkai considered the seated woman as she finished her proposal. "To penetrate the miko's barrier, your suggestion is the most likely to succeed." He shifted his weight slightly. "Assuming, of course, that she chooses only to defend herself."

She gave him an exasperated look. "You did say that it was the barrier that defeated you before, inu. If she had offensive weapons, why didn't she use them against you?"

"It is true," he said carefully, "that I saw no physical weapons at the time I unleashed my youki." He did not add, even in his mind, that he had earlier broken the miko's bow. "Since I chose not to attack once the barrier had injured me, I cannot say from that encounter what other abilities she may have at her disposal."

The icy-blue eyes surveyed him with just the hint of annoyance. "You are a cautious youkai."

He smiled slightly. "Caution can be a virtue, my lady."

"Only when it does not become a weakness," she retorted. He thought she was about to get up from her ice throne, and pace, but her eyes closed only a long moment, and then opened. "Caution will not gain us the Shikon no Tama."

"Probably not," he agreed, affably. But behind his relaxed pose, his senses were at high alert. The sense of the miko's barrier had not changed throughout their conversation, so whatever had caused the earlier shift was probably not from any sense of danger. But there were a number of youkai in the area, and too many of them smelled of ice imps. The youkai before him was clearly trying to avoid telling him more about herself than necessary, just as he was. But, it was clear to him that the imps looked to her, and that they were the source of her knowledge of the miko's location. "But, neither will unconsidered action. I—"

A faint caterwaul, from the direction of the miko's barrier, came to his ears. The youkai reacted before he thought, snapping his head around, his arms uncrossing and his hands tensing as his weight shifted forward.

"What is it, Inu?"

He cursed himself as he realized that he'd given away his greater sensory reach. "Something is howling, coming this way."

"Really?" The naginata that had been lying across her lap was raised to a vertical position: immediately, he felt the nearer ice imps starting to move. "Can your nose identify it?"

"Feline, youkai." Pointing out to himself that the source of the noise was moving away from the miko he'd sworn to protect, the youkai made himself relax his hands, and look back towards the female. "It sounds upset," he added.

Something flickered across her face. "Perhaps the miko has rebuffed another attack?" she said, rising to her feet. "Shall we encounter it? We may learn more that will aid our attack."

"I have no objections."

She moved ahead of him, her naginata held in a position for instant use. Which told him that this 'Xue-Sama' was more concerned about the voice than she was willing to let on. He followed, drifting to one side, feeling the ice imps shifting towards him. He stayed within her peripheral vision, not wanting to the imps to think he was dropping back to attack her from behind. Not that he feared them; but he wanted any fight to be on his own terms.

Preferably, he'd rather not fight at all.

They were about halfway to the miko's camp when a dusty-colored, knife-toothed cat galloped into view. His ears perked as he saw the woman, and he shifted his course slightly, voicing a yowl that even to a dog's ears sounded of relief and welcome. Landing at her feet, the cat crouched, chattering away in feline. The unnamed youkai drifted to a halt himself, making a guess as to the identity of the feline.

The naginata spun in the ice woman's hands, and the staff end slammed into the cat, throwing him against a nearby tree. Yowling with pain and with a noisy burst of youki, the cat transformed into a richly dressed boy. "Ow!" he complained, holding his ribs. "Mama! Why—?"

"Don't 'Mama' me, you fool!" she snarled. The inu noted with interest that his guess was correct. "You were told to scout, and remain silent until my attack! Instead, you waken the entire forest to our presence, including our enemies! What have you done!"

"But, Mama! Mama! The humans have a firecat captive!" The boy pushed himself to hands and knees as the inu tried to keep his face impassive. Humans? The taijiya must have decided to come after their miko, but how had they caught up so quickly?

"I-I smelled her," the boy contined, as the inu tried to think through how much the appearance of the taijiya was going to complicate the situation. "I had to try to rescue her! I went, I-I tried to attack, and she attacked me, and when I tried to talk with her, she didn't talk back in words, but she told me she stood with the humans, and to go away! But, they've got to have a spell on her! Don't they, Mama?"

"Not all youkai hate humans," the inu interjected quietly, trying to remember if he had scented youkai cat at the village.

Xue whirled to glare at him. "Stay out of this, inu! This idiot son of mine may have wrecked my—our—best chance to achieve the Shikon no Tama!"

He gave her a slight bow. "Your son lacks discipline," he offered, "but his instincts to help are not un-admirable."

Blue eyes flashed with icy ire. "His instincts should be to obey, not forget his orders in a thoughtless concern over a low-level youkai too stupid to avoid captivity."

The inu gave a slight shrug, deciding to say nothing more. Giving him a long look, Xue returned her attention to her son. "How many humans did you see—all of them, I hope?"

He shrank in on himself. "I-I think so, mama. I saw two men, and a woman. One man smelled of earth and plants. The other smelled of-of blood and youki. He wore armor."

"Taijiya are known to be in the area." It felt safe enough to suggest that. He saw the woman tense slightly.

"And the woman?" she asked.

"She-she smelled of power." The adolescent shivered. "And-and the cat: she boxed my ear, then walked over to the woman, went really small, hopped onto her shoulder, and licked the woman's face."

"So, it's the miko who holds power over the cat," muttered Xue. The inu had his doubts, but remained silent. "Their weapons?"

"Umm…" The boy's brow wrinkled in thought. "Spears. The armored one, had a spear with a blade on both ends."

Which meant the humans would have to get in close to fight.

Xue's fingers tapped against the shaft of her naginata as she thought for long moments. The inu kept his body still, his face impassive, but he listened with all of his senses. The imps had drawn closer, though they were avoiding the space beneath him. There was a very subtle shift in the miko's barrier. He could not tell what it meant, but he hoped she was aware of the possibilities of betrayal by the two human men. And the neko, for that matter—who knew what she was thinking.

And, of course, he was more certain than ever that Xue had no intention of dealing honorably with him. He had little doubt, that she would not commit her full power to the attack. It wouldn't surprise him, either, to know that she planned to signal the ice imps to swarm him at the opportune time.

Cats.

"The fire cat may be a problem," she pronounced finally. Xue glanced at the inu. "How much of a problem are these 'taijiya'?"

"I believe they were the humans who wrested the Shikon no Tama from youkai hands," he said. "They are trained to fight youkai from childhood, and are reputed to have many ways to defeat even powerful youkai." He hesitated briefly, before adding, "It is known that they once took out an inu youkai with a single attack."

To his dismay, she smirked at him. "Let me guess—they overpowered the inu's sense of smell. Inu noses are one of their weak points."

That woman was a bit too clever. He gave her another bow, trying to keep his chagrin from showing. "A shrewd guess, Lady Xue," he acknowledged.

Her smirk widened for a moment, before she returned her attention to the matter at hand. "Aisumaru!" she called, banging the end of the naginata against the ground. "Come!"

Frost appeared at a spot about two lengths in front of her, expanding rapidly to half that in diameter. A translucent form of a man rose from the ground, having the appearance of an unarmored, unweaponed samurai. He bowed, the crystalline lengths of his long hair faintly tinkling. "My lady."

"I will need your imps to provide a distraction, Aisumaru," she said. "You have been listening?"

"Of course, my lady."

"The humans have a fire-cat on their side. After the miko, she is probably the greatest threat, as her nature is our opposite. Are your imps sufficient in number to freeze her?"

The imp chieftain tilted his head. "There are fire cats and fire cats, my lady. Permission to speak with your son?"

"Permission granted."

The imp bowed again, then walked over and knelt by the lad who was still in his crouch. The inu kept his eyes on Xue, and his ears on the whispered conversation, which mostly consisted of a detailed description of the firecat and her actions. After he finished his conversation, the ice youkai stood up and re-approached his mistress.

"The neko is known to us, my lady," he announced, with a hint of rage and disgust in his whispery voice. "Long and long ago, she chose to side with humankind. She used to live in the taijiya village that was destroyed last year, after the Shikon no Tama came into taijiya hands. It is said that she saved many human lives when the village was destroyed, and protected them on their quest to find the one who could purify the jewel. It would give my clan great satisfaction, to be ones who brought one of the betrayers down."

"But, have you the strength?" she demanded to know. "The plan requires your clan to attack from two sides."

He visibly hesitated, then bowed. "Kirara is the most powerful of the living firecats," he acknowledged slowly. "I … cannot be certain, my lady. Especially if the taijiya uses his ground poison."

"But, you are willing to try?"

His eyes gleamed with an abrupt, feral fierceness. "We have lost to that cat before. For the sake of your promise, for the chance for revenge, we will do our utmost."

"Very well." Xue slammed the naginata's silver base against the ground. It vanished, only to reappear in Aisumaru's hand. The inu youkai blinked, almost losing his external composure, for why would any youkai give up her main weapon, into which she had stored a great deal of power?

He stared at the naginata in the ice imp's hand for a moment, and then, abruptly realized that it was not the same naginata. The blade was more white than silver, and its scent was sharply less. The aura seemed the same, but not when he concentrated his attention on it. It was a hollow aura—the same on the surface, but the power residing within the naginata was much less. Quickly shifting attention back to Xue, concentrating his senses on her for a brief moment, he sensed a kind of shadow within her lowered, apparently empty hand. He came to the conclusion that she still had the naginata, but had somehow split a weaker twin from it, while hiding the real weapon within a shadow domain.

Very clever.

Very, very clever.

And probably treacherous. If the ice imp acted on the assumption that the naginata was as powerful as its signature…

"Very well," she said, as the inu brought his full attention back to her. "The plan changes slightly: have the north group attack first: when the humans and neko are concentrating on them, have your main group attack concentrate on the cat. And wait for my signal through the naginata."

"Yes, my lady." The ice imp bowed once more, then dropped into the ground.

Xue turned to look at the inu youkai with a smile. "I think we can continue with our plans," she said. "It will be a bit more difficult, with three humans and that youkai, instead of the miko alone. But, I am quite confident that the Shikon no Tama will be ours. Do you agree, my dear inu?"

He considered briefly, and made up his mind. He had thought to wait until the ice imps were ready to attack, and then fly to the miko's side and demonstrate that they were working together. The presence of the taijiya, however, changed his plans. He didn't know what other surprises the human warriors might have, and the situation would simply be too complicated.

The inu youkai sighed, and flared his youki, using the power to restore the armor that the miko's barrier had dissolved. "There will be no attack on the humans, Xue-sama," he said. "Nor will the Shikon no Tama fall back into youkai hands."

… … …

The youkai lady stared at him. "What? Has your head suddenly cooked? What are you talking about, inu?"

"I am not after the Shikon no Tama, as I allowed you to assume," he said steadily. "I have felt its presence close up and know that its promises of power are but a deceit to bring about more suffering. The miko and I are not enemies, but allies. I have sworn to protect her, until she can purify and banish the Shikon no Tama."

She stared at him, anger kindling in her eyes. Her son also stared, still crouching on the ground, his mouth agape. "You thought to betray me?" she hissed. "You lying dog—"

"There is no betrayal." He deepened his voice, and intensified it, as he stared into her pale blue eyes. "I allowed you to make incorrect assumptions about my intent and my activities, but I have not lied. Nor would I ever attack from behind, or without warning."

He felt the attack rising from behind him even before he started his denial. Holding her eyes to the very last moment, he whirled. With perfect precision, he met the descending blade of the naginata with an armored, youki-sheathed wrist. The blade shattered. Continuing his turn, he stepped, and his other hand lashed out and found the ice imp's throat. Aisumaru was pulled off his feet, and flew through the air to land at Xue's feet as the inu completed his turn.

More ice imps swarmed towards him through the rock and soil. The silver-haired youkai leapt into the air, crossing his arms up and across his chest as he gathered his youkai, before sweeping both hands down to deliver the youki as a double set of eldritch claws. Imps yelped and shattered into non-existence as the ground shook under the impact of the golden, claw-shaped youki. The surviving imps dived back into the non-sundered sections of ground and disappeared.

A shuddering silence fell. The youkai allowed himself to drift down, to gently land on undisturbed soil. Xue stared at him, her expression one of shock, while her son was wide-eyed and shrinking in on himself. With one part of his senses reserved for the impetuous youth, the youkai met her eyes again.

"Xue-sama," he said in a gentle voice, "I can sympathize with your goal, to find enough strength to return in triumph to your own lands. But, the Shikon no Tama will not give that to you. Even should you manage to defeat myself and the miko, it will not bring you what you truly desire, but only a twisted, poisoned version of it." He paused, then continued more softly.

"Think on my advice, Xue-sama," he said. "You have a fine son, impetuous, perhaps, but brave. He needs you; needs your guidance. For his sake, turn away from the Shikon no Tama. Protect him, teach him, raise him to be a fine, strong, honorable youkai who will become your partner as well as your son. Do not risk throwing away his life, to continue seeking the false promise of the jewel."

The snowcat youkai continued to stare at him in silence. He waited a moment longer, and then bowed, turned, and walked away.


	10. Betrayal

**__****Disclaimer:**_ This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied. _

* * *

**Betrayal**

The three fighters-miko, taijiya, and neko youkai-stood back to back, weapons at the ready, while within the barely visible barrier, armed only with a couple of stones, Kenichi tried not to look as terrified as he was. The yowling of the young cat had faded into silence, but no one relaxed.

Kikyo's hands tightened on the spear as the unmistakable, fiery aura of the youkai lord flared near the edge of her range. "The youkai lord just raised his youki," she warned the others.

"Doesn't he have a name?" asked Iwao, with a slight sneer in his voice.

"He has not entrusted me with it, Iwao-dono," Kikyo replied absently, shifting position slightly. "He is to the west northwest. I think there are other youkai in his vicinity, but their auras are fainter, or cloaked."

"So, he's gone off to gather allies."

"Or confront the allies of that cat youkai," she retorted. "That is the general area where the boy fled."

Iwao grunted, and said nothing more. Kikyo strained to gather more information from her miko senses, but she dared not trance down to extend her range. His youki was obvious, even at that distance, but the others were difficult to sense. She thought that they were youkai related to ice or snow, or was that simply an assumption, based on the brief encounter with the youkai cat? She made herself relax her hands and drop her shoulders, while resolutely refusing to think about how much she wanted a bow in her hands.

Her uncertainty was answered by a flaring of multiple sources of youki, all with the tang of ice. Immediately, his aura flared even higher, with a spike that she recognized as an attack. "He's attacking, or being attacked," she said. "Ice youkai-nowhere near his strength."

He grunted again. "Be wary-ice imps like to attack from the ground. Did you continue your barrier underground?"

"Of course." Kikyo shrugged off the mild flare of irritation at the question. "I'm losing the sense of any ice youkai-whatever they tried, didn't work."

"So what is he doing?"

"I don't know," Kikyo said, after a moment of concentration. "He's dropping the level…"

"Heading back here?"

"Probably, when he considers it safe. He had only planned to hunt-"

"Kikyo-sama, watch out!"

… … …

Once a course of action of is determined, a warrior does not hesitate. Iwao's loyalty was to his kin and the need to guard the Shikon no Tama. He had left the village with one purpose. Given that the miko had already made it clear that she was unwilling to be reasoned with, he had only one alternative. The apparent end of strife between the missing 'protector' and his foes was the moment the miko would most apt to be off guard, and he knew precisely where she was positioned.

The farmer's warning came too late, as the shaft of his spear connected with a carefully metered amount of force. The miko dropped to the ground, unconscious, as the young man screamed her name again and ran forward, only to stagger backwards as he bounced off the still-existent barrier. Freeing one hand from his weapon, the taijiya bent and pulled up the miko, slinging her across the neko youkai's back. He jumped onto the firecat's back, and slammed both heels into her flanks. "Back to the camp, Kirara!" he ordered, grabbing the waistband of the miko's hakama.

She let out a cry that another might have labelled confusion, but Iwao had no patience for those who wanted to coddle or understand even a friendly youkai. He hammered her sides again. "Back to Tatsuo, back to camp! Now!" She took a step back, craning her head towards him, and Iwao kicked her again. "Back to camp, damn you! Obey!"

The cat finally sprang into the air. Iwao closed his ears to the cries of the farmer he was leaving behind. He knew he would pay a penance for abandoning the young man, but the fate of the Shikon no Tama was far more important than a single life. How many lives had already been lost, just in the time since the jewel had reappeared in the taijiya village? He had lost a wife and children, had lost friends and companions. A youkai-enamoured woman could not be allowed to remove the jewel from the watchful eye of his people, even if it meant taking her by surprise. And if her barrier did not immediately dissipate when she lost consciousness, well, it was an unfortunate event. He had not wanted to abandon the farmer. But the struggle to defend, control, and eventually destroy the Shikon no Tama was a war. And in war, as with an uncontrolled fire, there were going to be casualties.

Iwao dismissed Kenichi from his thoughts, and concentrated on his plans for the defense to come.

… … …

She stared after the white-haired youkai walking away from her, thoughts in wild confusion. Just who was this youkai? How could she have so badly underestimated his power? She had thought him to be somewhat lesser in strength than herself: strong enough not to attack rashly, but not one to fear, either. The caution in his speech, in his plain, unarmored appearance had helped lead to that conclusion. She had fully expected that, once engaged in battle, taking him out would be a simple matter for the amassed ice-imps and Aisumaru and his weapon.

Instead, he had met Aisumaru's attack with blinding speed, and shattered the weapon with merely the strength of his arm and armor. And then his attack on the imps; those fiery, golden claws gouging through the ground, leaving deep trenches: he was stronger than she was. Much stronger.

And confident, turning his back on an enemy, as if he had absolutely no concern that any attack of hers might breach his defenses.

What was he?

"Mama-Lady Mother?" Her son leaned against her arm. "What are we going to do?"

"Do?" Xue-maoyin gave herself an internal shake and looked down at her son. "What do you mean?"

"He said the Shikon no Tama is a bad thing. Are we going to stop going after it?"

"We should listen to a dog?" she snapped.

"But, Lady Mother, he's very powerful. He broke your naginata. And his fur-did you notice his fur? It had two tails on it, Lady Mother. Two."

"Dog youkai don't display strength by the number of tails," she noted shortly. "Don't overestimate him, just because he's good at shielding."

"Yes, Lady Mother."

She looked down as the ice imp at her feet moaned. "On your feet, Aisumaru," she ordered. "Be grateful that you are still alive."

The crystalline being whimpered, rolling to his elbows and knees, crouching before her. "But, I lost your weapon, my lady," he wailed in a whispering patter of sleet. "I failed you, my lady. I deserve your wrath."

Part of her agreed with him, but she knew that she still needed him to control the survivors of his clan.

Besides, an occasional display of mercy could be rewarded many times over, when properly used.

"The treacherous dog fooled this one, as well as you," she told him. "Learn to hide your aura when attacking: he knew where you were."

"Yes, lady."

"Now go call your kin. I want the dog followed. No," she added as he stiffened, "I do not ask them to attack. But I want to know where he goes, what he does. Now, go."

"Yes, my lady." The translucent figure brightened, and then sank into the ground. All around her, save where the claws had gouged through the ground, cold auras flashed and moved, gradually heading after the vanished inu youkai.

"What are we going to do, Lady Mother?" whispered her son.

She glared at the dusk darkening the trees.

"We wait," she said curtly. "We wait, and we think."

... ... ...

The nameless inu strode through the trees, trying not to clench his teeth as the bindings around his soul and his power stirred, trying to extend thin tendrils into his released power, in order to pull it back into the subdued mass. He hate the feeling, hated the needle-clawed shafts of fire it sent through his head. He would not dare sleep, now, until the bindings returned to quiescence, less he wake to find himself half-stripped of power and filled with confusion.

He refused, however, to mentally swear at the tree, as he usually did. He was fairly certain that the Xue woman would send her surviving ice imps after him, if only to keep track of where he went. More importantly, he must keep his thoughts clear. The miko he had promised to protect was potentially in danger from the men who had already threatened her. She seemed clever enough to avoid being trapped, but still, he did not care for the situation. If he did not exert himself to fly to her, it was both to avoid alarming her, and to keep the enemy behind him to thinking that he might possibly be overly concerned about the woman.

The sense of her barrier was clear to him. But as he walked swiftly through the forest, it gradually dawned on him that something was wrong. The sensation of her barrier should have been strengthening, as he moved towards it. Instead, it seemed to be weakening.

And, then, the wind shifted. He had been almost directly downwind of her, originally, while hunting and eating. But his path with the foreign youkai, and the fickle wind itself, had taken him out of that path. Now, the wind shifted again, and he caught a whiff of blood.

Her blood.

He bolted.

... ... ...

Shaking, Kenichi sank to his knees by the small fire, hands pressing against his head. The last months had been filled with terror and grief and horror, as youkai attacks rained down on his village, after the taijiya had brought the Shikon no Tama to Kikyo.

But, this! He was alone, in the dark. Iwao-san had attacked the lady Kikyo, and then left him behind, inside the barrier. And it was his fault! If he wasn't so weak a warrior, if Kikyo-sama hadn't chosen to abandon her own safety to protect him, this wouldn't have happened! And when that youkai returned, he'd probably be so furious, who knew what would happen, and please, gods, don't leave him alone like this, in the dark, waiting to die all alone, please don't!

"Man." The youkai's voice rang out without warning, and Kenichi felt his terror spike. "Where is the miko? Why do I smell her blood? Tell me!"

"I-i-iwao-s-san t-t-took her. O-on K-kirara," he stammered, shaking violently. "Sh-sh-she f-felt a-a y-youkai a-approaching, a-a-nd I-I-I'm n-n-not a-a-a r-r-real f-f-fighter, s-she pulled, pulled m-me i-in h-here, t-t-took m-my s-s-spear." Stuttering and stammering, tears and sweat streaming down his face, the terrified farmer struggled to explain what had happened.

"P-p-please m-m-make s-s-sure sh-sh-she's safe," he ended. "Sh-sh-she s-s-said y-y-you'd k-k-keep h-her s-s-safe."

"And what about you, man?"

The terror only seemed to grow, pressing Kenichi into the ground. "P-p-please, d-d-don't k-k-kill m-m-me," he whimpered. "I-I-I j-j-just w-w-want t-to g-g-go h-h-home…"

… … …

The inu youkai seethed with fury and concern as he waded through the human's barely coherent explanation. So, the taijiya had chosen to use force to get their way, had they? He arched his hands, feeling the power gathering in his claws. They were fools to think they could get away with that, he thought coldly. Suicidal fools.

It wasn't until the cowering human begged for his life that the youkai realized how much he'd let his reaction color his aura. Growling softly, he reigned in his temper and his power.

"Since the miko chose to protect you," he responded, "I will not slay you." It would hardly be worth the effort, came one idle thought, to kill such a terrified youth. Dismissing the thought, the youkai turned in a slow circle, testing the air, seeking to locate the mingled trace of neko youkai, taijiya and miko.

He located the scent, and stepped off the ground.

"P-p-please, d-d-don't l-l-leave me alone!"

He turned back, feeling irate. "Man," he said with short patience, "The miko's barrier still protects you. You are safe."

"B-b-but wh-wh-what i-if it f-fails?" moaned the human. "I-I-I'm s-scared! I-it's d-d-dark, I-I-I'm a-a-alone! Th-th-they'll e-eat m-m-me!"

The youkai's eyes narrowed in irritation. He was strongly tempted to leave the human behind-what difference did one terrified human's life make? And yet, he found himself mentally gauging the strength of the barrier. It was steady-a tribute to the miko's strong, discipline mind, that could keep it going without her conscious will. But it was weakening-if only because of the growing distance between her and it. Weakening fast. He doubted very much it could hold against the Lady Xue, especially if she used her weapon.

He considered, swiftly. The youth was clearly useless as a hostage, given how readily he'd been abandoned. And obviously useless in any sort of struggle against the taijiya and the neko youkai. But, there might be some worth in him, as a distraction.

There was also the trust consideration. The miko might be less inclined to continue her trust, should she realize he had abandoned the one she had extended protection to.

Power flooded the claws of his right hand, and he swung, carefully directly the claws to slash horizontally, well above the crouching human's back. The barrier resisted at first, shimmering blue, neutralizing his first claws. Then, with a burst of pink and white sparks, it disintegrated. Striding across the circle, he reached down and pulled the human up by the back of his kimono, trying not to gag at the sheer stench of the terrified mortal.

"I will leave you with the others when I rescue the miko," he said, shifting his grip to bring the human closer, despite the outrage to his nose. "I assume that you and the taijiya and the cat did not come alone. Tell me how many, and how they are armed."


	11. Reconnoiter

_**Disclaimer:** This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

* * *

**Chapter 10: Reconnoiter**

Kirara whimpered to herself, shifting from foot to foot. She wanted badly to shrink to her small form and huddle on Tatsuo's shoulder, away from the nasty poison which Iwao had spread into the ground. She hated it: the poison stung her paw pads. She knew she would have to wade into a creek and wait for the poison to wash off before she groomed her feet again, and her stomach was already twitching with the first hint of nausea. She had shrunk and leapt to the boy's shoulder as soon as Iwao had removed the vial of poison from his shoulder pad, but the taijiya leader had ordered her to get down and resume her full size. She would have been happy to ignore him, but Tatsuo had shrugged her off, and asked her to do what Iwao had said.

For him, she'd transformed. Well, for the others, too. She had lived with and protected the taijiya clan too long, to let their foolishness lead them to ruin. But, she did not like Iwao. She had liked his daughter well enough, though the poor girl had been too cowed by her father to do more than offer an occasional, unobserved scratch to her ears.

She missed many of the people who had died during the attack by the massive youkai swarm. Humans always lived short lives. She had learned to live with that, protecting the currently living, enjoying those who liked and trusted her, letting the past be slippery and generally forgotten. But, oh, for now, how she wanted it to be someone else to be in charge. She did not like Iwao before today.

She liked him less, now.

To distract herself from her painful paws, Kirara sidled closer to the bound, unconscious miko, and snuffled the side of her head. Blood had stopped leaking from the scratch on her cheek, which had scraped against a rock when she was thrown down by the spear. But, she was limp and still, and Kirara did not like it. It was wrong, wrong, wrong. How could the miko protect the Shikon no Tama when she was hurt and knocked out? The tiny barrier preventing the jewel from being removed was still working: Kirara could feel its edge just beyond the tips of her whiskers. But, the jewel's purity was ebbing, and Kirara's senses could feel the whispering voice, searching for new victims to lure into its trap. If only the miko would wake up!

"Tatsuo, get that cat away from the miko," snapped Iwao, glaring at her. "Tell her she's supposed to be keeping her nose up smelling for other youkai."

She wished she could snarl her dislike of Iwao, but showing her dislike would cause problems. More, a hand scratching behind one ear distracted her. "Do what he says, okay?" whispered Tatsuo. "When we get back, I'll get you a whole bowl of fish from the ponds, even if I have to steal it."

Kirara raised her head and snuffled his face, before rubbing herself against him, careful not to knock his slight figure over. Bribery. Meh. She wished he had at least promised to catch wild fish. The fish from the ponds were good, but compared to the wild caught…

She sighed and raised her head, stepping gingerly towards the periphery of the camp, as she snuffled the air, jaws slightly parted to gain the most sensory information. The dog was out there somewhere, she knew. She couldn't successfully fight that one, and she doubted the taijiya could, either. She just had to hope he would restrain himself.

… … …

The inu youkai dropped to the ground, letting go of the odoriferous human. The young man yelped as he hit the ground, and then whimpered. "Where, where are we?" he asked.

"Keep your voice down, if you care about saving lives," the youkai growled, head up, concentrating on all his senses, except for his eyes. They were downwind of the human camp, but he was not certain what the fire-cat's range was. He presumed that she would alert the humans to his presence, when she sensed him. It seemed reasonable to assume that her range was less than his—particularly from the olfactory point of view. He was, after all, a dog.

Odd that he had never realized it before Xue-sama had named him.

The nameless youkai shrugged off the mystery, the considering the information coming into his awareness. The ice imps were pacing him. Presumably, Xue had not taken his advice. If she had sense, she would only watch, and not attempt a sneak attack on him. The question was, what might they do to the humans, after he rescued the miko? For the sake of the miko's trust in him, he would prefer not to leave them in a situation where they would be vulnerable to Xue and her imps after his departure. But, he couldn't afford to be too easy on the humans, especially the ones who were trained. Who knew what other surprises the taijiya would have, beyond the stink balls they'd used to knock him out before?

"Please don't kill anyone," whispered the human. "We've lost so many this year."

Foolish human, thought the youkai with some irritation. "I prefer not to kill without cause," he stated, continuing to sample the winds both physical and eldritch. "Unfortunately, your value as a hostage is nothing."

"I-I d-don't care about my l-life," replied the boy, though his wavering voice suggested his statement was not entirely true. "I-I just d-don't want to-to s-see any-any of my friends d-d-die. Or-or e-even the t-t-taijiya."

"What about the miko?"

"Sh-she's a f-friend. Wh-when my s-sister d-d-died—" The man's voice broke.

The youkai sighed to himself and rubbed one temple. Humans. Get involved with one, and suddenly have an entire group to deal with.

If only he could at least get rid of this one, so he could plan a proper assault.

Hmm… maybe…

… … …

Iwao crouched near one of the fires, chewing on a slab of smoked fish. He had prepared his defenses as best he could. The poison in the soil would deter any youkai from approaching from underneath. Traps and trap-fires had been hastily set, and everyone had a set of stink balls. The farmers and two of his taijiya made up the outer circle; the rest of the taijiya the inner defenses.

He glanced across the fire. Kikyo was limp in her bonds, and would be for at least a day: the draught forced down her throat would ensure that. She was also nearly hidden under the carefully stacked logs. Iwao smiled thinly. The youkai would have to pause long enough to remove the wood from around and above her, to take her. And each log held a different—surprise. It should slow the youkai down, enough that he would be able to use his secret attack, if he chose.

His jaw knotted with tension, as he thought about that secret. It was not something he had ever wanted to use. He had practiced the moves, but never used the attack. It had been used twice within his family's history, so far as he knew, and both times, it had both succeeded, and killed the wielder.

At least, he could trust Takeo with the remnants of their clan, if it came to that. The big man wouldn't like it, but he'd never failed anything expected of him. The safety of clan and miko came before all, and Takeo, like himself, would not hesitate to take any action the preserve those two, whatever the personal cost.

Kirara growled. Iwao jumped to his feet, looking in the direction that her head was pointing in. "Up, everyone!" he snapped. "Remember to keep inside the ring, and don't waste your arrows!"

"What excellent advice, human," called a voice that sounded to be some distance away. "Might I suggest a temporary truce? I have something that belongs to you."

Iwao stiffened, as several others exclaimed. The youkai couldn't be serious! How could he possibly expect to use that poor, stupid farm-kid to bargain for the miko and the Shikon no Tama!

He opened his mouth to say that, but one of the other villagers beat him to it. "Kenichi? You've got Kenichi?"

"Kenichi!" bellowed one of the archers, his bow drooping. "Kenichi!"

"Shut up!" bellowed Iwao. "No one talks but me!" Gripping his spear, he took two steps towards the outer circle. "Don't think you can try to exchange the boy for the Shikon no Tama, youkai!" he spat.

"Oh, no. I'm hardly that naïve." The voice came from a different location. "I've already set your man free—just be careful to not shoot him when he shows up in the clearing."

Iwao's eyes widened, and the taijiya cursed in understanding. The youkai was wily: he'd realized that the abandoned human had little value in bargaining, but that the humans would still hesitate to loose their weapons at the first hint of someone entering the range. "Stay alert, everyone!" He kept his voice low. "Don't shoot without orders, but don't assume Kenichi will show up first, or ever."

"Oh, very good, human," said the voice from a third position, a ripple of amusement shading it. "I give you my word—your human companion is stumbling through the woods, quite free. Oh, and do be wary of the ice imps. They are serving a snow-cat youkai from the mainland." There was momentary silence, before the voice spoke up from a fourth location. "Her name is Xue-sama, and she may still be after the Shikon no Tama." Pause, another shift in location. "I did try to dissuade her, but I fear she may end up lured by the jewel's call.

"Oh, and Kirara, the ice imps are led by one Aisumaru. He doesn't like you—perhaps you're acquainted with him?"

Iwao saw Kirara's head snap up, then lower with a growl and bristling mane. He wondered momentarily why the cat would react, but then shrugged it off. Even animals could remember names and react to them. "If you're trying to confuse us, it won't work," he declared. "One step into the clearing, and you're dead."

"I doubt that," said the voice, from rather high up. "Being able to surprise an enemy once, doesn't mean you'll succeed the second time."

Iwao snarled. "Don't underestimate us, youkai!"

"Of course not." From ground level, a third of the way around the clearing.

Iwao's gut began to knot, as he realized that the youkai was toying with them. "Stop flitting around and attack us! Or are you a coward?"

"Coward? No." The voice was amused again, and the youkai was apparently once again off the ground. "Though I have been described as 'cautious' today. I choose my own time, human. Unless you wish to return the Kikyo-sama to my protection?"

"She will never be defiled by the likes of you!"

"So, she must be kept a prisoner, instead? One wonders how well she will be able to keep the jewel purified, when she is humiliated every day by that village headman."

Iwao gritted his teeth for a moment. "It is none of your concern, youkai."

"Oh, but it is my concern, taijiya. I pledged her my protection. And I take my word very seriously."

"Hah! What do youkai know about honor?"

"Most of them? Nothing. But, I am not most youkai."

"So, what are you?"

"That, taijiya, you must learn on your own."

Iwao fought to keep his jaws from grinding together a second time. The clan had had relatively few interactions with the higher, intelligent youkai, and the results were generally not good. Being ignored until too late was usually the best outcome. Being recognized as a threat before battle joined … was apt to be fatal, for the humans.

An incoherent cry of relief came from behind him, followed by a chorus of exclamations. Iwao started to turn his head to look, and then recalled himself. "Keep your positions!" he yelled, turning to keep the trapped miko squarely in view. "Kenichi, if that's you, get in here to the fire, sit down, and be quiet!"

He waited for the youkai to either make a mad dash in what was a moment of distraction for the humans, or to make another snide remark.

Neither happened.

… … …

"He's doing what?"

Xue stared at Aisumaru. He still looked dazed from the earlier contact with the inu youkai, and ice crystals were softly crackling and drifting down from his translucent hair.

"He's just—talking at them," Aisumaru said. "Keeps moving from one spot to the next, in the trees, on the ground. He had a human male with him, but let him go." He paused, concentrating. "The imps say the ground where the humans are is poisoned—they can't move any closer. The nekomata is with the humans. The miko is there, but her aura is unfocused."

"Unconscious," she concluded. "I wonder why."

"I do not know, my lady."

The snow cat youkai considered her options, eyes narrowing in thought. A concern for her current level of power suggested that she should retreat to her stronghold. Aisumaru was weakened, and a number of his imps had been badly damaged or destroyed. There was also the need to lesson her son in patience, after the way he had ruined her plans with her impulsiveness.

But, the Shikon no Tama was still out there, still very close to her. The inu youkai had warned her of it, and she had perceived that he believed what he said, but how could he know the truth? What if he were wrong? The power it promised: she could be the empress over this island. She could return to the mainland and destroy the M- clan, avenging her lord's death. She could rule over the eastern lands, bringing winter when and where she pleased.

Assuming, of course, that she could manage to defeat the inu-youkai.

Xue sighed. That was the crux of the matter. He was more powerful than herself, and clever. She might want the Shikon no Tama, but enough to risk a losing battle with him? Unlikely.

But, why was he dancing around the humans? Surely, he didn't fear the humans could harm him: she couldn't imagine him being unable to defeat all of them, even if they were trained in fighting youkai. Of course, one must expect even humans—if they were clever—to be able to defeat the lower types of youkai. The truly gifted humans, those with the 'spiritual' gifts, were a threat to anyone less than a taiyoukai. But, only the miko had that kind of power, or else Aisumaru would have mentioned it. So, why was the inu hesitating? Surely, he wasn't wishing to not harm the humans!

Were the humans threatening the miko? She supposed that might give the inu pause. He could be waiting for his chance to take them off-guard, she imagined. Humans did harm humans, though why they would want to harm the woman who could most effectively keep the Shikon no Tama from youkai, she didn't understand. And if the nekomata was the miko's ally, why hadn't she come to the miko's defense?

Oh, ice melts! Speculation was useless. She would go find the inu and find out what was going on—after all, there might still be an opening to take the Shikon no Tama, if she knew just what the situation was. And she didn't care if that was wishful thinking. She needed more power, and she would find it and take it!

Standing up, she stabbed a glare at her son who hadn't moved from his kneeling position. "You will stay here," she ordered curtly. "I find you moving one whisker without me summoning you…"

He grovelled, looking suitably repentant. "Aisumaru, on me. I'm going to speak with the inu again."


	12. The First Skirmish

_**Disclaimer:** This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied._

* * *

**Chapter 11: The First Skirmish  
**

The youkai examined the camp from his perch, his thoughts grim. He could envision many possibilities in what he would do next—and for the humans, the mostly likely outcomes involved death.

He examined the camp again. It was far too easy to make out details, with the lit fires. The miko was barely visible under an untidy heap of logs: his first reaction had been shock, until the view from different angles had revealed that the wood was not actually laying on her body. But, the wood was clearly booby-trapped, and he wondered, uneasily, if the traps were meant for him, or to kill her if it looked as if he might succeed in rescuing her. Was that a step that humans would take, to destroy if they couldn't keep possession?

A swirl of chilly youkai, and whiffs of ice and cat warned him. "Xue-sama," he murmured, not moving his eyes from a continued examination of the humans.

"Inu-sama," she replied, with a hint of sarcasm, which he interpreted as annoyance over his not having given her his name. Since he had no name to give, he ignored it. "You seem reluctant to attack."

"True enough," he replied. "I could slaughter the human men, but the miko would probably not approve. I have promised her my protection; to keep that promise, I need her trust. How is that trust kept, if she believes that I willingly killed people she knows and possibly cares for?"

"They've taken her captive—why should she care what happens to them?"

He sighed. "Why should she not? Humans..." he hesitated, groping for an explanation, to put into words what he knew, that he did not know how he knew. "She has lived with these people, maybe been friends, before she accepted the offer of my protection. Her—refusal to change her mind, when confronted, is what turned them against her. When we left, the miko was not angry, but very sad. It is … I think it is the way of at least some humans that even betrayal does not make them not care about another human's fate."

"Then, she is very stupid."

He shook his head. "She is not." He started to say something further, then changed his mind. Discussing human motivations was not something he wanted to do.

A motion caught his attention: the nekomata had swung her head in his direction, nostrils flaring as she caught his scent. "Time to move," he murmured. He skimmed through the branches and down to the ground at less than his full speed, fully aware of the potential foe behind his back. He finished a third of the way around the clearing, and well away from it. "Taijiya-sama," he pitched his voice to be easily heard, "You should reconsider your intent to fight me. You cannot defeat me."

"That's what you think," came the reply, edgy and angry. "We've killed stronger youkai than you."

"And just how do you know that you've seen everything I can do?"

"That goes both ways, youkai! Don't think those stink bombs that stopped you before are the best we have–not even close!"

"I have no intention of underestimating you for a second time, taijiya," said the youkai, projecting a sense of amusement in his voice.

"I do not understand why you are just flitting around and talking to them," muttered Xue, as she came up next to him—not approaching from behind, though it would have been a shorter route. "If you will not attack them, what do you plan to do?"

"Distract them, wear them down," he answered shortly, starting to move slowly through the trees, searching with his youkai senses for the ice imps that had to be around somewhere. "They won't have my stamina, and waiting may reveal an opening."

"I could help that along," she offered. "My imps can't approach too closely, but we could create an area of cold, slowly. Humans get sluggish and sleepy in the cold."

He considered the offer. "The nekomata would sense your attack. Even if she couldn't dispel your cold, she would probably warn the humans, and they might have a counter."

"So, we take her out," she said. "Aisumaru would love to have a rematch."

"After what I did to him, do you really think he has a chance?" he asked. "Expending an ally to little or no gain is scarcely wise."

He felt her flash of anger. "What concern is it of yours, what I do with my servants?"

"Nothing," he replied. "But, your ambitions to return to the mainland: how far will you get without reliable allies?"

"If I have the Shikon no Tama, I will need no allies."

"If you somehow obtained the Shikon no Tama, you would never make it back to the mainland," he retorted. "There are many stories of its power, but how many stories of anyone achieving and keeping their dream?"

She said nothing, a sullen, brittle breeze surrounding her. The youkai gave her a few moments to consider, and then changed the subject. "Distracting the nekomata is a good idea. Other than sending Aisumaru on a suicide attack; what would you suggest?"

… … …

Kirara paced just inside the perimeter of the camp, paws hurting with each step. Some of the taijiya poisons were fairly short-lived. The one they had used on the ground was not. She would have taken to the air and patrolled from there some time ago, but Iwao had ordered her down, and Tatsuo had added his plea. The human commander had said something about 'saving' her strength, which Kirara knew was stupid. But, she did not have words to argue, and Iwao had never learned her signals. She could have ignored him, but she had been part of too many battles. Ignoring Iwao's order would cause consternation, argument, and distraction. For the miko's sake, she would not cause that.

No matter how much it irked her feline soul.

A blast of icy air slammed into her side. Kirara whipped around to face the source, pain, and unhappiness forgotten as she snarled, ears flattening, hackles rising, youki fire flickering around the bottling hairs of her twin tails. _Aisumaru!_ She recognized his frigid scent. They were opposites in nature and power, and had fought on more than once occasion, usually to a draw. This time, she realized as she drew in another breath, she knew she could take him. His youki was brittle and erratic. Something had happened to him. What, she didn't know, and it didn't matter. Growling, head lowered, tails whipping back and forth, she crouched, shifting her weight, preparing to launch herself at the spot where his youki was strongest.

"Kirara, no!" A slight weight flung itself against her, wrapping an arm around her neck. "It's a trap!" She felt Tatsuo's fingers digging into her fur. "Can't you feel it? There's a whole bunch of youkai around, including that guy who took Kikyou away. They _want_ you to attack! Don't do it!"

"Yes, little kitty." Aisumaru's voice came from the shadows just slightly further away than a leap she could make without flying. "Do what your mortal masters say. Such a weak, sickly youkai, doing the bidding of those who should be your prey…"

Kirara snarled again, her crouch deepening, instincts burgeoning against the restraint of experience and the bonds of loyalty and affection. She was in pain, she was sick, she was angry, and her foe was vulnerable and so close, so close! Her hindquarters tightened, back claws driving out of their sheaths into the ground, preparing to leap—

"Don't!" Kirara's leap forestalled as Tatsuo jumped in front of her, hands grabbing for her ruff. "You-can't-go—arrgh!"

Her senses fuzzing with the poison seeping into her body, Kirara sensed the attack just a moment too late. Lunging sideways and forward, she used her head to toss the slightly-built human aside, but too late, as a stream of ice struck him in the middle of his back. She yowled, taking the last of the attack on her side, but too late, as Tatsuo's cry cut off, and as he landed limply, ice crackling as it raced over his body.

_Kitten!_

Kirara roared, primeval rage and blood lust swallowing caution and thought. Flames flared high, banishing any darkness that dared to linger. She leaped forward, fangs fully bared, her only thought to grapple and eviscerate her foe—

… … …

Iwao tightened his grip on his weapon as he mentally cursed. "Kenichi! Grab Tatsuo and get him between the fires!" His words were clipped as he watched the flaming nekomata bolt towards an unseen foe. "Mamoru, attack five! Wait for—"

Something ghostly flowed towards Kirara too fast for the human eye to make out details. Golden arcs, more intense than her flames, lashed out, and the youkai cat shrieked in agony and collapsed, her flames lasting just long enough to reveal a rapidly shrinking silhouette.

The taijiya cursed silently. "Mamoru, hold fire, unless you see a clear shot. The rest of you, hold your positions!"

_While I try to come up with a plan,_ was his silent addendum, his jaws clenched as he tried to come up with a plan. He'd never approved of depending on youkai allies such as the nekomata: youkai were what they fought; it was foolish to depend on youkai: look how the cat had relied on instincts and sprang to attack, instead of waiting within the circle for the attack to come to her. But, he knew that—unreliable or not—the cat was a powerful fighter. Without the nekomata, he had only five taijiya he could really depend on. The boy was out, and the farmers might have courage, but little skill. And they were up against a clever, intelligent youkai of unknown strength.

There had to be a way to take him at disadvantage. There just had to be—

… … ...

The golden-eyed youkai stopped in the shadows, pulling back the last of the flickering glow around his claws. That, he thought, had been almost too easy. He had not really expected the nekomata to be that easily lured into pursuit. He didn't know her, but from the description Xue's son had given, and what little he had sensed from her aura, he thought she was a youkai of considerable experience, and freely associating with the humans.

"Yesss!" An exultant, chilly wind of a hiss behind him made the youkai turn. Without pause for thought, he leaped forward, as Aisumaru brought down a glimmering icicle two-thirds his height long down towards the helpless feline. The youkai lord snatched the spear of ice just beneath the Aisumaru's hands, wrenching up and sideways, pulling the slighter youkai off his feet completely before the ice youkai let go.

"No!" shrieked Aisumaru as he landed off balance. "She's mine!"

He tossed the spear away, hearing it snap and crack against a branch. "My prey," he said coldly, snatching up the limp, furry body with a single hand. Aisumaru yelled as his personal weapon—and part of his power, shattered into a dozen pieces. The nameless youkai shifted the limp cat into his left arm, right hand ready to defend or attack.

Aisumaru shook, his aura wavering as his weapon dissipated into mist. "She's mine," he insisted, pale eyes glittering in the dark. "She's killed my kind. Hates my kind. Hate her, kill her. Mistress said, she's mine."

Feeling his own temper flickering with irritation, the youkai flared his aura, causing the other to flinch. "If you two want to fight it out when you are both healed, fine," he said coldly. "But, until then, the nekomata is—"

The hiss of an arrow splitting the air was unmistakable. The youkai lunged forward, grabbing the ice youkai and throwing the smaller youkai before him. Too late, he heard the second hiss, and realized that the humans had taken advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration. They had predicted his reaction to the first arrow. He could increase his speed and dodge the second, but the stumbling Aisumaru could not.

Cold, selfish logic said to leave Aisumaru to his fate—a logic nearly all youkai would act on.

The nameless youkai did not know why he seemed to be an exception.

But, it displeased him to think that such a weaker foe would die because he had accidentally put him into a position to be killed by something else.

Not that there was time to clearly think through that. He had only time to act on habit and instinct, placing himself between the arrow and the stumbling Aisumaru, shifting to once again take a weapon on a forearm sheathed in the solid, youki-created armor of his own will.

The arrow slammed into his arm and exploded. Momentarily blinded, the youkai leapt sideways and back, feeling a dozen pricks of fire slash into his cheek, his ear, his shoulder, his upper arm, his torso. The stench of the explosion was worse than the discomfort of the burning remnants of the arrow clinging to various bits of his anatomy, but scarcely as debilitating as the scent balls of that morning.

But, for only a moment.

And then, the tiny flames flared, transforming from inconsequential bits of fire to searing tongues of red and gold, searing-hot flame. The youkai started, breath catching as pain abruptly burned his face and his shoulder, and with a flare of shock realized—the flames were consuming his youki!

Aisumaru screamed. The nameless youkai turned his head enough to see the ice youkai beating frantically at a shard of flame that had taken root on his shoulder. Youki flared around the beating hand, forming ice. With growing horror, the inu youkai saw fire catch in the ice itself.

And he could feel the multiple flames of fire expanding on his own person.

"Aisumaru! Inu-sama! Hold still—I'll send the imps and snow—"

"No!" Thoughts snapped into brutal clarity as he shouted. He whirled, knowing that one youkai was almost certainly doomed. "The fire feeds on youki!" His left hand, holding the limp, fortunately untouched nekomata whipped out in a flat, hard throw. "Catch her! Get out of arrow range!" Not looking to see whether Xue would catch the tiny Kirara, the inu youkai sprang forward, snatched the screaming Aisumaru by an arm and sprinted towards the nearest trickle of true water, relying only on the muscles in his legs, compressing his youki and ignoring the pain with all the strength of will that was within him...

... ... ...

A short, dying shriek of terror was accompanied by a silvery-white column of flames shooting above the treetops.

"You got him!"

"Shut up." Iwao's snarled command silenced the farmer before he could add to his yell. "We've won nothing—yet."

Silence fell, save for the gentle crackling of flames. Mamoru stood close to the edge of the poisoned circle, two more arrows in hand, their heads both wrapped in balls of the youki-burning clingfire the taijiya had created. Watching the shadowed patch from which the youkai had fled, Iwao acknowledged silently their debt to the unconscious miko. Bows were rarely used by taijiya, mostly because the ranged weapon gave most youkai too much time to avoid an arrow. But, Mamoru had practiced archery as a boy, and when Kikyo had learned that he had just enough of the spiritual gift to be able to see youkai auras, she had insisted on teaching him how to use his gift to guide his aim. And he would have to thank old Amaya as well, for she'd known to obtain some of the ingredients in the deadly mixture, and had willingly made several batches, despite the fact that the stuff could be almost as dangerous to humans as to youkai.

He still found it hard to believe that the youkai had let himself be that vulnerable. Mamaro's two-shot attack had been the only chance against a youkai with that kind of speed, but he should have been able to avoid both of the arrows...

"I don't think that was the big youkai," said Mamoru softly, barely loud enough to be heard by the leader.

"Agreed." Iwao shifted his weight. "The flames on him were red and gold. Can you still see his aura?"

"No. There's others in the area, but his … it just sort of—vanished. I could still see the flames, before he went down that slope, but it was as if he'd managed to shut it down." The tall, slender man was silent for several moments. "Could a youkai draw in his aura so much that the clingfire would stop burning?"

"Doubt it." Iwao flexed his hand holding the long shaft of his weapon. "The youkai's just making his death longer."

Or, so he needed to believe. A youkai couldn't survive being hit with clingfire. Clingfire burned anything with youki in it, until every bit of youki was consumed. And the youkai who had been hit by the arrow was unquestionably the one who had seduced the miko and turned her against her own kind. There was no mistaking that long, silver hair, and furred, two-tailed cloak. There was no mistaking that clingfire had struck him in multiple places, from head to thighs. He was a dead youkai walking, even as he dashed away, dragging the slighter youkai with him. He must have realized that the flames fed on his youki, and must be heading towards water, not knowing that not even water could put out that fire. Any moment, the growing flames must overcome the power and will that ultimately held the physical form together. Any moment, flames would overpower will, and then, in a single, explosive instant, consume that will, and that life-force in a tumultuous burst. It had to happen. It had never not happened, by all the lore and legend of his clan.

He tried not to think of the word 'yet.'

Iwao tightened his grip on his weapon for a moment, then forced himself to relax and concentrate on the moment. "Kenichi," he called out. "How's Tatsuo?"

"Um, I've wrapped him up in a couple of blankets, and put him close to the fire, but he's still shivering really bad."

"Give him some saki. Bottom of the red sack. Then start some water boiling for tea. Make enough for you, as well. And eat something. It's going to be a long night, even after that big youkai goes up."

_If the youkai goes up._

Iwao slapped the doubt away, and continued to consider his options.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Real life has been hectic and stressful the last month or so, and I have to admit my writing is down. I hope I can get it back up—what I'd like to do is concentrate on the two major storylines—this one and Blood Unbound—and get at least one chapter posted for one of the other every week. Well, I'll try, anyway...


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